»;'■'"( 


w',;y 


,m^fi 


LECTURES  -\ 


ON 


CHRISTIAN  DOCTRINE. 


BY 

4 


/ 

ANDREW    P.*PEABODY, 

PASTOR    OF    THE    SOUTH    CHURCH,    PORTSMOUTH,    N.  H. 


SECOND   EDITION, 

WITH   AN    INTRODUCTORY    LECTURE    ON   THE   SCRIPTURES. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED  BY  JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY. 

1844. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1B44,  by 

ANDREW    P.    PEABODY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTKD    BY    THURSTON,    TORRV    AND    CO, 

31  Devonshire  Street. 


\r  — ^ ^ 

^   NOV   9    1085  ^ 
%   . ' \<v'^^ 


PREFACE. 


These  Lectures  were  prepared  for  the  pulpit,  without 
the  slightest  reference  to  their  publication.  They  have 
been  sent  to  the  press  as  first  written,  at  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  many  of  the  author's  parishioners.  They  are 
not  offered  to  the  public,  as  a  full  compend  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  or  as  a  fair  exhibition  of  the  positive  side 
of  the  author's  own  faith;  but  simply  as  a  discussion  of 
the  prominent  points  at  issue  between  the  Unitarian  and 
the  Calvinistic  portion  of  the  Christian  Church.  As  such, 
they  were  deemed  valuable  and  satisfactory  by  those  who 
heard  them ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  prove  so  to  those 
who  may  read  them.  To  the  Parish,  whose  uniformly 
kind  and  indulgent  appreciation  of  his  services  and  labors 
he  is  happy  thus  to  acknowledge,  they  are  respectfully 
and  affectionately  inscribed  by 

THE    AUTHOR. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  Jan.  8,  1844. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE. 

THE    SCRIPTURES,  .....  1 

LECTURE  I. 

THE    DIVINE    NATURE,     .....  27 

LECTURE  IL 
JESUS  CHRIST,  .....  53 

LECTURE  in. 

JESUS   CHRIST,  .....  83 

LECTURE  IV. 

THE    HOLY    SPIRIT,  .....  105 

LECTURE  V. 

HUMAN    NATURE,  .  .  .  .  .125 

LECTURE  VI. 

REGENERATION,  .....  145 

LECTURE  VII. 

THE   ATONEMENT,  .....  169 

LECTURE  VIII. 

THE   ATONEMENT,  .  .  .  .  .195 


INTRODUCTORY  LECTURE. 


THE    SCRIPTURES.* 

2  TIMOTHY  III.    16. 

ALL  SCRIPTURE  IS  GIVEN  BY  INSPIRATION  OF  GOD,  AND  IS   PROFITABLE   FOR 

DOCTRINE,  FOR  REPROOF,  FOR  CORRECTION,  FOR   INSTRUCTION   IN 

RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

In  the  present  Lecture,  designed  to  be  preliminary  to 
a  series  of  discourses  on  Christian  doctrine,  I  shall 
present  and  defend  my  view  of  the  authority  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  and  especially  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

The  Old  Testament  consists  of  thirty-nine  separate 
books,  all  of  them  originally  written  in  Hebrew,  by 
nearly  as  many  different  authors,  and  at  intervals 
during  a  period,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  of  more 
than  a  thousand  years.  The  New  Testament  consists 
of  twenty-seven  books,  written  originally  in  Greek,  by 
ten  different  authors,  in  the  interval  between  the  reputed 
date  of  our  Saviour's  ascension,  and  the  close  of  the 
first  century.  These  last  books  I  shall  quote  in  the 
following  Lectures  as  of  plenary  authority  on  all  mat- 


*  The  substance  of  this  Lecture,  originally  delivered  from  the  pulpit, 
was  published  in  the  Christian  Examiner  for  May,  1842. 
1 


2  '  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

ters  of  Christian  doctrine,  while  T  shall  also  make 
occasional  reference  to  the  Old  Testament,  as  indicating 
the  divine  mind  with  reference  to  the  fundamental 
principles  of  religion. 

We   have  a  superabundant  weight  of  external  and 
internal  evidence  to  convince  us,  that  the  books  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  (with  unimportant  exceptions,) 
were  written  by  the  men  whose  names  they  bear,  or  at 
the  times  when,  and  the  places   where  they  purport  to 
have  been  written  ;  that  they  were  written  honestly  and 
in  good  faith;  that  they  have  in  all  times  been  regarded 
with    reverence   and   confidence   by   those,    who   have 
enjoyed  the  best  means  of  knowing  their  true  character; 
and  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were,  most 
or  all  of  them,  written  by  the  personal  companions  and 
followers  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  or  by  their  immediate 
disciples   and   friends.     Now,  were  the  Bible  merely  a 
series  of  historical  works,  or  did  it  relate  to   matters  of 
secondary   interest    and   moment,    we   should   be  fully 
satisfied   with   this  ample  proof  of  the  genuineness  and 
authenticity   of   the  several  books  which  it  contains. 
But  the  most  honest  men  are  liable  to  error,  especially 
in  quoting  the  sayings  of  others  on  abstract  and  spiritual 
subjects;   and   on   subjects  of  this  kind  a  very   slight 
misrecollection  might   materially   pervert   the  sense  of 
what  was  uttered.     How  know  we,  then,'  but   that  the 
evangelists,  though  honest  men,  may,  by  the  frailty  of 
their  own  understandings   and   memories,  have  grossly 
misrepresented  the  language  and  spirit  of  Jesus.^  Some 
of  these  books,   too,   are  not  in  a  narrative  form,  but 
didactic   and   doctrinal ;   and,  if  they  were  written  by 


THE    SCRIPTUHES.  O 

fallible,  yet  honest  men,  without  any  peculiar  illumina- 
tion from  heaven,  how  know  we,  that  they  are  always 
sound  in  their  counsels  and  right  in  their  judgments? 
How  can  we  assure  ourselves,  that  they  have  not  erred 
widely  on  matters  both  of  doctrine  and  duty,  as  have 
many  wise  and  honest  men  before  and  since? 

These  questions  throw  open  the  whole  subject  of 
inspiration;  and  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  enter  upon  our 
inquiry  with  just  notions  of  its  magnitude.  How  much 
then  does  it  involve?  Does  it  cover  the  whole  ground 
between  Christian  faith  and  infidelity?  By  no  means. 
Whoever  receives  the  history  of  Jesus  as  authentic, 
has  within  his  reach  enough  of  unquestionable  truth  to 
serve  as  the  basis  of  Christian  character.  No  one  can 
believe  the  evangelists  to  have  been  honest  men,  without 
believing  the  principal  facts  in  the  life  of  Jesus  and  the 
essential  doctrines  of  his  religion.  But  the  difference 
lies  here.  He,  who  regards  the  sacred  writers  as 
divinely  inspired,  deems  himself  possessed  of  an  unerring 
guide  as  to  all  the  minutiae  of  doctrine,  of  an  infallible 
compass  for  his  whole  path  in  life.  His  only  question 
is,  'What  say  the  law  and  the  testimony?'  That 
settled,  he  need  seek  no  farther.  He,  on  the  other 
hand,  who  denies  inspiration,  while  he  would  feel  satis- 
fied with  regard  to  great  truths,  might  be  uncertain  as 
to  many  lesser,  yet  important  points;  might  often  doubt 
whether  the  apostles  spoke  after  the  mind  of  Christ,  or 
uttered  their  own  fallible  judgments;  and  thus,  where 
the  voice  of  Scripture  was  entirely  clear,  might  be 
painfully  perplexed  as  to  the  way  of  truth  and  duty. 

But  what  is  inspiration?     We   mean  by  this  word, 


4  THE     SCRIPTURES. 

in  its  application  to  the  Scriptures,  a  divine  influence 
exerted  upon  the  minds  of  the  sacred  writers^  to  aid  them 
in  the  exhibition  of  truths  and  to  save  them  from  hurtful 
error.  No  one,  we  presume,  at  the  present  day,  would 
maintain  that  the  very  words  of  Scripture  were  dictated 
by  the  divine  spirit  ;  that  the  genealogies  in  the  first 
book  of  Chronicles  were  breathed  from  heaven  into 
the  author's  mind;  or  that  there  was  anything  super- 
natural in  Paul's  sending  for  his  cloak  and  parchment. 
We  observe  in  each  of  the  sacred  writers  peculiarities, 
and  sometimes  imperfections  of  style,  such  as  would 
naturally  grow  out  of  his  education,  mode  of  life,  and 
temperament.  Amos,  the  herdsman  of  Tekoah,  writes 
in  a  much  simpler  style,  and  with  a  much  greater  afflu- 
ence of  rural  imagery,  than  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel,  whose 
condition  in  life  seems  to  have  differed  widely  from  his. 
How  easy  is  it  to  trace  the  impetuous  Peter,  the 
modest  and  affectionate  John,  the  glowing  and  devoted 
Paul,  in  their  respective  writings!  But,  if  the  words 
of  the  Bible  were  dictated  by  God,  instead  of  this  great 
diversity  of  style,  we  should  expect  to  see  the  whole 
Bible  written  in  one  unvarying  style  *of  unique  grandeur. 
This  strict  verbal  inspiration  would  detract  greatly 
from  the  value  of  some  portions  of  Scripture,  particu- 
larly of  the  devotional  parts;  for  their  worth  consists 
in  their  being  expressions  of  devout  feeling  on  the 
part  of  their  authors, — upbreathings  of  hearts  touched 
with  a  living  coal  from  God's  altar,  and  enabled  to  light 
a  kindred  flame  in  other  souls,  and  thus  to  furnish 
examples  and  forms  for  the  devotion  of  all  coming 
times.     We  doubt  not  that  the  Jewish   minstrels  drank 


THE     SCRIPTURES. 


deeply  from  the  same  fountain  of  inspiration,  from  which 
the  prophets  drew  their  marvellous  foreknowledge;  but, 
if  God  dictated  the  very  words  of  the  Psalms,  they 
cease  to  be  specimens  of  human  devotion,  and  appro- 
priate models  for  man,  and  present  to  us  the  solecism 
of  the  Almighty  praying  to  himself,  and  chanting  his 
own  praises.  As  to  the  merely  historical  parts  of  the 
Bible,  if  the  authors  knew,  either  by  revelation,  by 
their  own  observation  and  experience,  or  by  means  of 
authentic  documents  already  extant,  the  facts  which 
they  related,  they  had  no  need  of  verbal  inspiration  to 
enable  them  to  tell  their  stories  faithfully.  Moreover, 
on  him,  who  should  maintain  the  necessity  of  verbal 
inspiration  for  the  original  writers  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  would  rest  the  burden  of  showing,  why 
like  inspiration  is  not  equally  necessary  for  all  translators 
of  the  Bible.  In  fact,  the  question  of  verbal  inspiration, 
did  it  admit  of  being  agitated,  would  be  barely  one  of 
vain  curiosity.  It  has  ceased  to  be  of  any  practical 
moment,  since  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  became 
dead  languages. 

But  while  we  believe  that  the  sacred  writers  wrote 
each  in  his  own  style,  and  with  a  large  degree  of  free- 
dom, w^e  maintain,  that  they  were  inspired,  that  their 
minds  were  preternaturally  enlightened  and  guided, 
that  holy  men  wrote  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  For,  in  the  first  place,  the  idea  of  inspiration 
is  in  strict  accordance  with  reason  and  intrinsic  proba- 
bility. We  cannot  deny  to  the  Father  of  man's  spirit 
that  power  of  direct  and  recognised  communication 
with   it,  which  he  has   granted   to   fellow  men.     We 


6  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

cannot  suppose  that  God  has  opened  the  soul  to  the 
inbreathings  of  other  souls,  and  left  no  avenue  for  the 
entrance  of  'his  own  voice.  No.  If  man  has  a  soul, 
God  must  have  the  key  to  its  every  apartment,  and 
must  needs  have  at  his  command  even  those  modes  of 
access  and  forms  of  speech,  which,  for  good  reasons, 
he  rarely  sees  fit  to  use. 

Again  we  believe  that  miracles  were  wrought  for  the 
establishment  both  of  Judaism  and  Christianity.  Why 
is  it  less  probable,  that  miracles  should  have  been 
wrought  for  the  faithful  transmission  of  their  records? 
If  to  plant  the  reign  of  truth  and  righteousness  upon 
the  earth  was  an  object  of  sufficient  moment  to  disturb 
the  laws,  which  nature  had  for  ages  kept,  surely  to 
perpetuate  that  same  reign  on  the  solid  basis  of  infallible 
testimony,  was  an  object  amply  worthy  of  the  equally 
magnificent,  though  less  conspicuous  miracle  of  inspi- 
ration. 

We  are  also  predisposed  to  believe  in  the  inspiration 
of  the  sacred  writers  by  the  conscious  wants  of  our 
own  natures.  We  feel  the  need,  not  only  of  a  generally 
faithful  guide,  but  of  one,  that  we  can  trust  as  to  all  the 
details  of  truth  and  duty, — of  records,  which  shall  be 
to  us,  in  things  pertaining  to  godliness  and  a  life  to 
come,  what  a  parent's  words  are  to  the  confiding  ear  of 
infancy.  We  cannot  bear  to  be  left  in  doubt  on  sub- 
jects, so  momentous  even  in  their  least  imposing  aspects. 
The  infallibility  of  Jesus  himself  affords  no  sufficient 
basis  for  implicit,  childlike  faith,  if  those,  who  recorded 
his  sayings  and  pencilled  the  first  developments  of  his 
truth,  were  liable  to  the  common  mistakes  of  unlettered 


THE     SCRIPTURES.  7 

and  inexperienced  biographers  and  interpreters.  Our 
Jesus  is  the  Jesus  of  their  gospels  and  epistles;  and  it 
matters  little,  that  the  living  person  bore  the  express 
image  and  uttered  the  express  words  of  God,  if  they 
were  liable  to  gross  error  in  painting  that  image  and 
recording  those  words. 

But  it  may  be  asked  :  '  Is  there  no  basis  for  the 
plenary  authority  and  virtual  infallibility  of  the  sacred 
writers,  short  of  their  inspiration  in  a  peculiar  and 
exclusive  sense?  To  say  nothing  in  this  connexion  of 
the  Old  Testament,  if  the  apostles  were  honest  men, 
may  we  not  rely  upon  them  as  amply  competent, 
without  supernatural  aid,  to  have  been  both  the  biogra- 
phers and  the  expositors  of  Jesus?  They  were  long 
with  him  ;  must  not  every  principle  of  his  religion  have 
so  stamped  itself  upon  their  hearts,  must  not  his  spirit 
have  so  permeated  their  whole  mental  and  moral  being, 
as  to  take  away  the  very  power  of  mistake  or  failure? 
Must  not  their  familiarity  with  him  have  done  for  them 
all,  that  express  inspiration  could  have  done?'  I  reply, 
that,  in  the  connexion  of  the  apostles  with  our  Saviour, 
there  were  many  circumstances,  which  seemed  to 
render  some  subsequent  illumination  necessary,  in  order 
to  their  being  faithful  historians  and  expositors.  From 
our  Saviour's  baptism  to  his  ascension,  there  was  the 
space  of  only  sixteen  months;  and,  though  his  principal 
disciples  were  with  him  at  intervals  during  the  whole 
of  this  time,  there  intervened  but  seven  months  between 
the  call  of  the  twelve  and  the  ascension;  and,  even  for 
a  part  of  that  period,  they  were  absent  from  him  on 
their  mission  among  the  villages,   whither  he  was  to 


8  THE     SCRIPTURES. 

follow  them.  Much  of  their  intercourse  with  him  was 
in  the  distracting  presence  of  multitudes,  much  of  it  at 
times  of  fatigue,  persecution,  want,  and  fear.  And, 
what  is  more  to  the  point,  according  to  their  own 
account,  they  were  ignorant  of  his  true  character  till 
after  his  ascension.  On  the  very  ascension  morning, 
they  asked  him,  '  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore 
the  kingdom  to  Israel?  '  They  must  therefore  have 
listened  to  him  all  along  with  erroneous  impressions. 
They  understood  not  a  large  part  of  what  he  said,  at 
the  time  when  he  uttered  it.  His  true  glory  was  veiled 
from  them,  while  they  were  with  him.  They  saw  and 
heard  through  a  false  medium,  and  could  not,  therefore, 
in  all  cases  have  derived  true  and  just  ideas  from  what 
they  saw  and  heard.  But  what  men  misunderstand 
they  are  prone  to  misremember,  and,  however  honestly 
and  unconsciously,  to  misrepresent;  nor,  when  they  get 
the  right  key  to  conversations  and  events,  which  they 
have  once  misunderstood,  is  it  easy  to  apply  it  to  them 
retrospectively,  so  as  to  restore  them  in  their  original 
fulness  and  signlficancy,  and  to  make  them  in  their  own 
minds  and  in  the  narration  of  them  to  others,  just  what 
they  would  have  been  had  they  possessed  the  key  at 
the  outset.  According  to  the  common  laws  of  mind, 
the  New  Testament  must  have  been  tinged  throughout 
by  the  early  misapprehensions  of  its  authors,  and  must 
have  presented  in  biography  and  in  doctrine  a  double, 
a  Janus-faced  image,  made  up  of  the  temporal  Messiah, 
whom  the  apostles  at  first  expected,  and  of  that  spiritual 
Redeemer,  with  whom,  after  the  ascension,  they  ascer 
tained    that    they  had    lived   and    walked.     We    thus 


THE    SCRIPTURES. 


should  have  had  insufficient  and  unsatisfying  Scriptures. 
But  this  is  not  the  case.  The  only  vestiges  of  these 
misap}3rehensions  are  in  the  repeated  record  of  the  fact, 
that  they  existed.  Both  biography  and  doctrine  are  of 
one  shape  and  hue, — present  a  fabric  entire  and  seam- 
less as  the  Saviour's  own  tunic,  and  are,  throughout, 
adapted  to  the  higher  views  of  their  Master's  mission 
and  character,  which  ensued  upon  his  departure  from 
earth.  Now  this  fact  constitutes  to  my  mind,  in  behalf 
of  the  inspiration  of  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
a  presumptive  argument  too  strong  to  be  passed  by 
without  notice,  though,  in  introducing  the  subject,  I 
intended  to  speak  only  of  the  necessity  for  inspiration 
growing  out  of  the  misapprehensions,  which  existed 
during  our  Saviour's  lifetime. 

For  the  reasons,  which  I  have  stated,  religious  books 
written  by  inspired  men  are  within  the  range  of  antece- 
dent probability,  and  of  reasonable  expectation  and 
desire.  But  how  far  should  we  antecedently  expect 
the  inspiration  of  the  sacred  writers  to  extend?  So  far, 
I  reply,  as  is  needful  '  for  doctrine,  reproof,  correction, 
and  instruction  in  righteousness,' — so  far  as  is  necessary 
to  afford  an  infallible  guide  in  matters  of  religious  faith 
and  duty.  Up  to  this  point  we  should  expect,  at  least 
for  the  sacred  writers  of  the  latter  and  more  perfect 
dispensation,  plenary  inspiration.  But  here  inspiration 
must  cease.  We  should  not  expect  to  see  miracles 
wrought,  (and  inspiration  is  a  miracle.)  for  other  than 
religious  ends;  for  no  lower  ends  seem  of  sufficient 
moment  to  outweigh  the  advantages  resulting  from  an 
undisturbed  course    of   nature.     We  may,  therefore, 


10  THt:     SCRIPTURES. 

consistently  with  the  highest  views  of  rehgious  inspiration, 
suppose  that  the  sacred  writers  were  left  to  their  own 
wisdom  and  research,  with  regard  to  such  merely 
secular  details  as  were  within  their  reach;  that  they 
copied  from  ancient  chronicles,  compiled  their  genealo- 
gies from  previously  existing  tables,  and  trusted  to  their 
own  unaided  memories  for  those  minute  and  incidental 
circumstances,  which  had  no  religious  bearing.  This 
theory  of  inspiration  may  also  be  reconciled  with  any 
alleged  imperfection  of  style  in  the  sacred  writings, 
with  the  slight  discrepancies  between  the  gospel  narra- 
tives, with  scientific  inaccuracies  in  the  Old  or  New 
Testament,  in  fine,  with  whatever  objections  have  any 
other  than  a  strictly  religious  aspect.  While  we  would 
contend  that,  in  a  religious  point  of  view,  plenary 
inspiration  pervades  these  records,  we  would  regard 
and  criticise  them  in  every  other  aspect,  as  the  writings 
of  men,  of  like  passions,  infirmities,  and  errors  with 
other  men  of  their  own  times  and  nation. 

I  now  proceed  to  consider  the  positive  grounds,  on 
which  this  idea  of  inspiration  rests.  Let  us  first  look  at 
the  New  Testament. 

The  following  are  some  of  our  Lord's  promises  to 
his  apostles  before  his  death.  '  I  will  pray  the  Father, 
and  he  will  give  you  another  helper,  even  the  spirit  of 
truth.'*  'He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth.'  'He  will 
take  of  mine  and  shew  it  unto  you.'f  '  He  shall  teach 
you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance, 
whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you.':]:     Here  is  an  express 

*  John  xiv.  16,  17.  t  John  xvi.  13,  14.  t  John  xiv.  26. 


THE    SCR1PTUR.es.  11 

promise  of  two  things,  first,  of  a  supernatural  enlighten- 
ing of  the  minds  of  the  apostles  with  regard  to  religious 
truth,  and,  secondly,  of  a  supernatural  quickening  of 
their  recollections,  with  regard  to  what  Jesus  had  said 
while  he  was  with  them.  If  the  above  quoted  words  of 
Jesus  do  not  mean  as  much  as  this,  they  mean  nothing. 
But  the  scene,  at  which  they  were  uttered,  was  too 
solemn  and  too  sad  for  unmeaning  hyperbole.  The 
Master  was  just  leaving  his  frail  and  trembling  company 
of  apostles,  and  professed  to  be  giving  them  precepts 
and  promises,  for  their  guidance  and  comfort  when  he 
should  have  gone  from  them;  and  it  is  a  gross  insult  upon 
his  spirit  to  maintain,  that,  at  such  a  season,  he  should 
have  fed  them  upon  the  wind,  should  have  made  a 
parade  of  oriental  metaphor,  and  employed  words, 
which  literally  denote  a  divine  inspiration,  to  express  no 
more  than  must  happen  to  them  according  to  the  com- 
mon laws  of  mind.  But  were  the  recollections  of 
Matthew  and  John  thus  miraculously  quickened?  Then 
may  we  cherish  the  undoubting  assurance,  that  Jesus 
was,  said,  and  did  all  that  they  represent  him  to  have 
been,  said,  and  done.  Was  the  whole  system  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  duty  thus  preternaturally  laid 
open  to  John  and  James,  Peter  and  Jude?  Did  the 
spirit  of  truth  guide  them  into  all  truth,  as  Jesus  had 
promised  them?  Then  may  we  rest  assured,  that  their 
epistles  contain  neither  doctrines  nor  precepts  of  man's 
device,  but  the  truth  and  the  will  of  God.  We  may 
trace  also  in  these  epistles  a  consciousness  of  inspiration. 
For  instance,  Peter  thus  classes  himself  and  his  fellow 
apostles  with  the  prophets,  to  whom  we  well  know  that 


12  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

they  ascribed  divine  inspiration.  'That  ye  may  be 
mindful  of  the  words,  which  were  spoken  before  by  the 
holy  prophets,  and  of  the  commandments  of  us,  the 
apostles  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour.''* 

Paul  was  not  one  of  the  twelve;  but,  if  he  was  a 
sane  and  an  honest  man,  he  was  equally  inspired  with 
them.  He  repeatedly,  and  in  a  great  variety  of  forms, 
professes  inspiration.  Such  is  undeniably  the  import 
of  passages  like  the  following  :  '  The  gospel,  which 
was  preached  of  me,  is  not  after  man  ;  for  I  neither 
received  it  of  man,  nor  was  I  taught  it  but  by  the  reve- 
lation of  Jesus  Christ.'!  '  Which  things  we  teach,  not 
in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  in  the 
words  which  the  holy  spirit  teacheth. 'J  '  If  any  man 
think  himself  to  be  a  prophet  or  spiritual,  let  him 
acknowledge  that  the  things,  which  I  write  unto  you, 
are  the  commandments  of  the  Lord.'<§>  Again,  speaking 
of  his  system  of  doctrine,  Paul  says  :  '  Ye  received  it 
not  as  the  word  of  men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word 
of  God. 'II  And  again,  in  a  similar  connection  :  '  He 
that  despiseth,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God,  who  hath 
also  given  unto  us  his  holy  spirit. 'H  Now  let  him,  who 
thinks  that  St.  Paul  intended  to  express,  by  words  like 
these,  only  the  fact,  that  he  had  the  same  kind  of  inspi- 
ration, which  every  good  man  has,  try  the  case,  by 
supposing  any  good  man  of  his  acquaintance  to  use 
similar  language.  Would  not  any  man,  of  however 
high  spiritual  attainments,  who  in  our  day  should  talk 
thus  about  himself,  be  regarded,   by  every  sober  mind, 

*  2  Peter  iii.  2.  t  Gal.  i.  11,  12.  t  1  Cor.  ii.  13. 

§  1  Cor.  xiv.  37.  II  1  Thess.  ii.  13.  IT  1  Thess.  iv.  8. 


THE    SCRIPTURES,  13 

as  either  an  impostor  or  a  madman?  These  passages 
either  mean  nothing,  or  they  denote  divine  inspiration 
in  the  special  and  exclusive  sense  of  the  words;  and,  if 
St.  Paul  was  an  honest  man,  and  in  full  possession  of 
his  mental  faculties,  he  was  an  inspired  man. 

There  remain  two  of  the  evangelists,  Mark  and 
Luke,  who  were  not  apostles,  who  were  not  included 
in  the  Saviour's  promise  of  divine  illumination,  and  who 
make  no  professions  of  inspiration  ;  who  therefore  may- 
have  been  honest  and  faithful  writers,  without  having 
been  inspired.  What  shall  we  say  of  them  ?  The 
question  of  their  inspiration  is  of  secondary  impor- 
tance ;  for, 

1.  Mark's  gospel  contains  hardly  anything  not  to  be 
found  in  Mathew's  or  John's  ;  and  Luke's  additional 
matter,  though  considerable  in  amount,  and  of  intense 
interest,  could  lay  the  foundation  for  no  new  doctrine 
or  principle,  but  harmonizes  entirely,  in  tone  and  spirit, 
with  the  narrative  of  the  apostolic  evangelists. 

2.  Though  these  two  gospels  do  not  bear  the  names 
of  apostles,  they  were  virtually  apostolic  productions. 
Mark  was  the  intimate  companion  of  Peter,  and  a  tra- 
dition almost  as  old  as  his  gospel,  and  handed  dow^n 
without  dispute,  informs  us  that  he  wrote  by  Peter's 
dictation.  Luke  distinctly  avows  himself,  in  the  proem 
of  his  gospel,  to  be  only  the  penman  of  what  he  had 
received  directly  from  the  apostles  :  —  "Even  as  they 
delivered  them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning  were 
eyewitnesses   and  ministers  of  the  w^ord."*      As  for 

*  Luke  i.  2. 


14  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  a  large  part  of  the  book  is 
mere  history,  and  the  record  of  scenes  and  events  of 
which  Luke  was  an  eyewitness.  There  is  good  reason 
to  suppose,  that  he  was  present  at  the  miracle  of  the 
cloven  tongues,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  ;  and  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  book,  he  expressly  speaks  of  himself 
as  St.  Paul's  travelling  companion,  and  in  this  part  is 
evidently  copying  from  a  diary.  There  can  exist  no 
doubt,  as  to  his  competency  to  write  a  history  of  affairs, 
in  which  he  had  so  deep  a  personal  interest,  especially 
as,  unlike  the  apostles  during  our  Saviour's  lifetime,  he 
understood  the  religion,  of  which  he  was  writing  the 
history,  and  therefore  saw  things  from  the  true  point  of 
view.  Equally  little  doubt  can  there  be,  as  to  the  * 
decisive  internal  marks  of  accuracy  and  faithfulness, 
which  this  book  presents. 

Yet  it  seems  to  me  highly  probable,  that  Mark  and 
Luke  were  inspired  men  ;  for, 

1 .  We  have  reason  to  believe,  that  miraculous  gifts 
and  endowments  were  not  confined  to  the  apostles  ; 
and  on  whom  else  can  we  so  readily  suppose  that  they 
would  have  been  bestowed,  as  on  the  intimate  and 
confidential  friends  of  such  men  as  Paul  and  Peter  ? 

2.  We  find  that,  from  the  earliest  times,  Mark's  and 
Luke's  writings  were  regarded  by  the  church  as  of 
equal  worth  and  authority  with  those  of  Matthew  and 
John. 

The  internal  character  of  the  New  Testament 
strongly  confirms  the  view,  which  we  have  taken,  of  the 
inspiration  of  its  writers.  Its  style  and  tone  befit  men, 
whom  a  divine  spirit  had  lifted  above  the  passions  and 


THE    SCRIPTURES.  15 

prejudices  of  the  multitude.  The  completeness  of 
their  works,  viewed  collectively,  may  be  regarded  as  a 
presumptive  argument  of  great  weight  in  favor  of  their 
inspiration.  We  know  not  how  sufficiently  to  admire 
the  divine  skill  displayed  by  the  evangelists.  They 
are  relating  the  godlike  pilgrimage,  works,  and  words 
of  one,  who  came  from  God  and  went  to  God,  —  of 
one,  who  stood  out  alone,  of  all  beings  that  ever  trod 
the  earth,  in  the  loftiness  of  his  character,  in  the  sanc- 
tity and  vastness  of  his  mission.  Their  narrative  is 
brief,  —  it  is  crowded  full  with  marvel  and  miracle, — 
it  tells  us  throughout  of  heavenly  things.  Yet,  without 
ever  forgetting  the  heaven-descended,  the  son  of  God, 
they  present  to  us,  on  almost  every  page,  a  section  of 
our  Saviour's  domestic  life  and  walk  among  men,  show 
him  to  us  as  a  son  and  a  brother,  as  a  neighbor  and  a 
friend,  as  a  master  and  a  citizen,  among  kindred, 
among  strangers,  among  enemies,  in  the  temple,  at  the 
marriage  feast,  in  the  house  of  mourning.  In  this  wide 
diversity  of  detail,  we  see  always  the  same  majestic 
and  godlike  image,  in  no  circumstances,  however  nar- 
row or  humble,  shorn  of  a  ray  of  its  glory.  And 
when  the  authors  confess  that,  while  the  divine  original 
was  upon  the  earth,  they  knew  him  not,  we  cannot  help 
believing,  that  the  image  was  reproduced,  and  sustained 
before  their  inward  vision,  by  the  spirit  of  God.  We 
cannot  help  drawing  a  similar  inference  from  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  epistles.  They  relate,  for  the 
most  part,  to  local  and  temporary  questions,  and  dis- 
putes, and  to  a  great  diversity  of  these,  many  of  them 
difficult,  mixed,  complex  cases.     Yet  who  will  venture 


16  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

to  maintain,  that  these  writers  have,  in  a  single  in- 
stance, failed  to  apply  to  the  solution  of  these  cases 
the  true  spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  strict  law  of  right- 
eousness ?  On  the  other  hand,  all  their  decisions 
are  in  entire  accordance  with  each  other,  and  with  the 
spirit  that  breathes  through  the  gospels  ;  and  with  the 
discussion  of  questions,  that  have  passed  away  forever, 
they  have  connected  so  many  maxims  of  eternal  truth, 
and  so  many  clear  and  expanded  illustrations  of  great 
and  everlasting  principles,  that  these  epistles  must 
needs  go  down  to  the  end  of  time,  in  the  connexion  in 
which  they  now  stand  with  the  gospels,  as  the  best 
commentary  upon  them,  and  as  an  exhaustless  repertory 
of  Christian  wisdom. 

These  considerations  are  greatly  strengthened  by  one 
of  a  negative  character.  There  is  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment nothing  which  militates  against  our  faith  in  the 
inspiration  of  its  authors, — no  brand  of  falsehood  or 
folly  to  suggest  an  opposite  theory,  —  nothing  super- 
ficial or  shallow  ;  but  a  profoundness  and  fulness,  which 
no  created  mind  has  exhausted  or  outgrown.  No  man, 
whom  men  have  consented  to  call  wise,  has  professed 
himself  to  have  advanced,  in  ethical  or  religious  culture, 
beyond  the  New  Testament ;  but  the  wisest  men  have 
found  in  it  enough  to  stretch  and  task  their  highest 
powers  through  the  whole  of  life.  But  what  unaided 
man  had  written,  we  might  expect  man  to  exhaust  or 
outgrow.  Taking  our  view  of  inspiration  for  a  stand- 
point, we  could  not  expect  to  find  the  New  Testament 
more  perfect,  or,  in  any  essential  respect,  other  than  it 
is  ;  —  it  is  just  such  a  collection  of  books  as  this 
theory  would  presuppose. 


THE     SCRIPTURES.  17 

Add  to  this  consideration,  the  wide,  the  ahnost  in- 
conceivable contrast  between  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament  and  the  residue  of  the  early  Christian  writ- 
ings extant,  some  of  which  bear  the  names  of  personal 
friends  and  followers  of  the  apostles,  and,  whether  gen- 
uine or  not,  must  belong  to  the  age  next  succeeding  the 
apostolic.  The  most  edifying  of  these  contain  much 
that  is  puerile  and  absurd,  —  much  that  would  settle  in 
the  negative,  without  dispute  or  division,  the  question 
whether  their  authors  were  inspired.  The  highest  de- 
gree of  veneration,  which  has  ever  been  paid  to  the 
New  Testament,  cannot  separate  it  from  the  best  other 
writings  of  the  primitive  days  of  the  church,  by  broader 
marks  of  distinction,  than  show  themselves  on  the  very 
face  of  the  respective  works.  And  yet,  had  the  wri- 
ters of  the  New  Testament  been  left  without  any 
greater  degree  of  divine  illumination,  than  these  other 
writers  had,  we  can  hardly  believe,  that  so  very  de- 
cisive marks  of  difference  would  have  been  presented. 

You  will  perceive,  that  I  make  the  souls  of  the 
apostles  and  evangelists,  and  not  the  parchment  on 
which  they  wrote,  the  seat  of  inspiration.  I  by  no 
means  assert,  that  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
received  their  outward  shape,  or  even  their  existence, 
from  a  divine  monition,  urging  one  to  write  a  gospel, 
and  another  an  epistle.  I  suppose  that  they  wrote  as 
they  saw  the  churches  to  need,  and  were  guided  by 
their  own  judgment  as  to  what  and  when  they  should 
write.  But  they  were  men  taught  of  the  spirit, — 
guarded  against  error,  and  furnished  with  adequate 
views  of  truth  and  duty,  by  inspiration  from  on  high  ; 
2* 


18  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

and  out  of  the  abundance  within,  they  both  spake  and 
wrote.  There  was  the  same  inspiration  in  their  oral 
instructions.  There  was  the  same  inspiration  in  what- 
ever else  they  may  have  written,  which  has  not  come 
down  to  us.  There  would  have  been  the  same  inspiration 
in  the  writings,  (had  they  left  us  any,)  of  Phihp  or  Bar- 
tholomew, of  Lebbeus  or  Simon  the  Canaanite.  The 
exigencies  of  the  case,  and  the  testimony  of  the  apos- 
tles themselves,  convince  us  that  they  all,  (and  those 
immediately  associated  with  them  also,)  were  inspired 
men  ;  and  the  New  Testament  has  come  down  to  us, 
as  the  only  surviving  records  of  what  was  written  under 
the  influence  of  that  inspiration. 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  inspiration  of  the 
writers  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  vindicating  their 
inspiration,  we  are  called  upon  to  defend  only  the  re- 
ligious character  of  the  Old  Testament.  Is  its  general 
history  defective  and  untrustworthy  ?  We  think  not  ; 
but,  if  it  be  so,  this  fact  touches  not  the  question  of  in- 
spiration. Are  its  genealogies  imperfect,  and  inconsis- 
tent with  each  other  ?  We  are  rather  amazed  that  they 
should  be  so  full  and  coherent ;  but,  were  they  drawn 
out  with  the  minute  accuracy  of  modern  heraldry,  we 
should  not  claim  supernatural  aid  for  their  compilation. 
Is  Solomon's  Song  a  mere  epithalamium  ?  If  so,  we 
do  not  believe  that  Solomon  had  any  divine  assistance 
in  writing  it.  Are  there  many  portions  of  the  Old 
Testament,  where  the  writers  show  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  peculiar  divine  guidance,  and  subject  to 
the  prejudices  and  errors  of  their  times  ?  Be  it  so. 
We  should    antecedently  expect   the    penmen  of  the 


THE    SCRIPTURES.  19 

earlier,  and  less  perfect  dispensation,  to  have  been  en- 
dowed with  a  less  intense  and  pervading  inspiration  ;  to 
have  lived  less  constantly  in  the  perception  of  spiritual 
truth  ;  to  have  had  only  transient  glimpses,  where  the 
apostles  enjoyed  open  vision.  We  should  antecedently 
expect  to  find  more  of  the  merely  human  element  in 
the  earlier  Scriptures,  which  were  designed  to  be  but 
as  '  a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  should 
dawn  and  the  day-star  arise.'  The  question  of  In- 
spiration should  be  discussed  solely  with  reference  to 
the  religious  contents  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
question  is,  whether  those  things  in  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures, which  were  beyond  man's  knowledge  or  fore- 
sight, or  far  above  the  light  of  those  times,  were 
discoveries,  speculations,  happy  guesses,  or  whether 
they  were  actually  derived  from  the  inspiration  of  God. 
Among  the  internal  marks  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
writers  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  would  first  name  the 
religious  unity  and  harmony,  which  pervade  it.  The 
writers  all  have  the  same  conception  of  God,  of  devo- 
tion, of  duty.  This  has  not  generally  been  the  case 
among  the  less  cultivated  nations.  The  Jupiter  of 
Homer  differs  from  the  Jupiter  of  the  later  Greek 
tragedians.  The  popular  conceptions  of  every  per- 
sonage In  the  Pantheon  of  Greek  mythology,  were 
gradually  developed,  and  essentially  modified  by  time. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Jehovah  of  Moses,  Isaiah,  and 
MalachI,  at  intervals  of  many  centuries,  during  which 
vast  revolutions  had  been  wrought  In  the  national  con- 
dition and  culture,  is  one  and  the  same  Jehovah.  The 
conception  reached  the   highest  form,  which  language 


20  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

could  give  it,  in  the  writings  of  Moses,  nay,  in  the  very 
name  Jehovah;  and  in  that  form  it  remained  fixed, 
until  Jesus  softened  it  with  warmer  beams  of  fatherly 
love.  Nor  yet  can  we  trace  any  diversity  among  these 
writers,  as  to  the  way  in  which  God  is  to  be  worship- 
ped, or  the  duties  which  he  requires. 

The  frequent  loftiness  of  thought  and  style  in  the 
Old  Testament,  beyond  all  other  ancient  writings,  lift- 
ing the  soul,  as  it  were,  into  the  very  presence-chamber 
of  the  Deity,  sustains  the  idea,  that  these  majestic 
passages  were  written  by  men,  whose  spirits  had  been 
elevated  and  expanded  by  special  nearness  of  converse 
with  the  Divine  Being.  There  are  portions  of  Isaiah 
and  Ezekiel,  there  are  some  of  the  Psalms  of  David, 
which  are,  to  the  devout  ear,  more  like  a  voice  from 
heaven,  than  like  the  words  of  man. 

In  fine,  the  Old  Testament  stands  out  in  such  a 
prominent  contrast  to  all  other  equally  ancient  writings 
extant,  even  to  the  writings  of  the  wisest  and  best  men 
in  the  most  cultivated  ages,  that  we  know  not  how  to 
account  for  its  sublime  theology,  its  clear  and  high 
views  of  duty,  its  pervading  tone  of  confidence  and 
authority,  except  by  ascribing  to  its  authors  special 
illumination  from  the  spirit  of  God.  We  cast  our  eyes 
over  the  brightest  pages  of  profane  literature,  and  find 
nowhere  a  view  of  the  divine  nature,  on  which  we  can 
repose  ;  but  see  the  mind  distracted  among  a  multitude 
of  clashing  deities,  bowed  down  by  the  spirit  of  fear 
and  trembling,  dreading  the  thunderbolt  without  ever 
trusting  the  love  of  the  divinity,  cringing  before  gods, 
possessed  of  all  human,  and  worse  than  human,  pas- 


THE     SCRIPTURES.  21 

sions  and  infirmities.  We  then  turn  to  the  Bible,  and 
we  read  :  'The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  ;  I  shall  not 
want.  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures  ; 
he  leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters.  Though  I  walk 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear 
no  evil,  for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff, 
they  comfort  me.'  Now  all  the  logic  in  the  world  can 
never  convince  me,  that  we  are  indebted  solely  to  that 
old  barbarous  king,  of  a  nation  unlettered  and  unrefined, 
for  these  sentiments,  which  anticipate  the  very  spirit  of 
Jesus  ;  which  express  all,  and  more  than  all,  that  the 
most  pious  heart  can  feel  ;  which  will  still  be  the  bur- 
den of  our  song,  when,  beyond  the  reach  of  earthly 
infirmity,  '  the  Lamb  who  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  feed  us,  and  shall  lead  us  unto  living  fountains  of 
waters.'  We  might  make  similar  remarks  with  regard 
to  very  many  passages,  which  present  glimpses  of  God, 
of  truth,  and  of  duty,  which,  our  hearts  tell  us,  are  the 
very  highest  of  eternal  verities,  and  which  stand  en- 
tirely alone  in  the  literature  of  the  world  before  Christ, 
both  as  to  their  depth  and  fulness  of  meaning,  and  as 
to  the  tone  of  majestic  and  simple  confidence,  in  which 
they  are  announced. 

The  numerous  fulfilled  prophecies,  contained  in  the 
Old  Testament,  offer  a  more  tangible,  though  hardly  a 
stronger  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  its  writers,  than 
the  traits  to  which  we  have  already  referred.  I  have 
not  time  to  discuss  these  prophecies  They  cover  a 
large  portion  of  human  history.  The  fulfilment  of 
some  of  them  can  be  distinctly  traced  in  the  past  ;  that 
of  others  is  now  in   progress,  and  known  and  read  of 


22  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

all  men.  The  present  condition  of  the  Hebrew  nation 
could  hardly  be  described,  in  many  of  its  distinctive 
and  unprecedented  features,  with  more  accuracy,  by  a 
modern  geographer,  than  we  find  it  foretold  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Could  bhnd  chance  have  conjured  into 
being  phantoms  of  poetic  fancy,  that  should  thus  cor- 
respond to  actual  events  across  the  gulf  of  ages  .'* 
Could  she  have  brought  together,  and  worked  into  the 
brains  of  those  old  seers  just  the  same  elements,  which 
after  many  centuries  Providence  would  embody  in  the 
counsels  and  destinies  of  nations  ?  This  is  harder  to 
beheve,  than  that  she  could  paint  a  flower,  or  blunder 
a  world  into  being.  The  recurrence  of  the  same  har- 
monies, at  distant  intervals,  in  the  sphere-music  of  time, 
can  be  accounted  for,  only  by  supposing  the  harmony 
to  have  been  first  struck  by  the  same  omnipotent  hand 
that  repeats  it. 

We  have  also,  in  favor  of  the  inspiration  of  the  writ- 
ers of  the  Old  Testament,  the  testimony  of  the  infalli- 
ble Jesus  and  of  his  inspired  apostles.  Jesus  says, 
'  Search  the  Scriptures  ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 
eternal  life  ;  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me,'  * 
that  is,  which  foretell  me,  which  have  a  prophetic 
character,  —  a  character  which  could  result  only  from 
divine  inspiration.  And  again,  '  Had  ye  believed 
Moses,  ye  would  have  beheved  me  ;  for  he  wrote 
concerning  me,'f  prophetically,  of  course.  In  like 
manner  Jesus,  epitomizing  the  whole  Old  Testament, 
speaks  of  what  was  written  concerning  him  '  in  the 
law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms. 'if 

*  John  V.  39.  t  John  v.  46.  *  Luke  xxiv.  44. 


THE    SCRIPTURES.  23 

He  often  also  quotes   these  writings   as  of  divine  au- 
thority and  final  appeal. 

The  apostles  also  continually  quote  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  authoritative.  St.  Peter  says  :  'The  prophecy 
came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man  ;  but  holy  men 
of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  holy  spirit.'* 
Paul  too  writes  to  Timothy  :  '  All  Scripture  is  given 
by  inspiration  of  God,  (or,  more  properly,  pervaded 
by  a  divine  afflatus,)  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness.' f 

I  have  now  shown,  T  trust,  that  the  inspiration  of 
the  sacred  writers  rests  on  a  firmer  basis,  than  that  of 
anile  superstition.  I  am  aware,  that  on  this  subject 
low  and  lax  views  often  find  favor.  But  to  me  faith 
on  this  point  appears  the  part  of  sound  philosophy.  If 
God  stands  to  us  in  the  paternal  relation,  in  which 
Jesus  presents  him,  an  intrinsic,  a  priori  probability 
attaches  itself  to  any  theory,  in  proportion  as  it  brings 
him  near  to  his  children,  and  appeals  to  their  implicit 
confidence.  In  a  world  not  fatherless,  for  the  short- 
sighted and  frail  children  of  an  infinite  Father,  it  is 
more  philosophical  to  believe,  than  to  disbelieve  in  mir- 
acle and  inspiration.  The  philosophy  of  the  filial  heart 
is  higher  and  of  vastly  more  worth,  than  that  of  the 
doubting  head. 

Such  are  the  views  of  inspiration,  which  lead  me, 
on  all  subjects  of  religious  doctrine  and  duty,  to  bow 
submissively  to  the  authority  of  the  written  word  ;  and, 
in  this  deference  to  the  voice  of  Scripture,  I  have  the 

*  2  Peter  t.  21.  t  2  Tim.  iii.  16. 


24  THE    SCRIPTURES. 

entire  and  cordial  sympathy  of  the  great  body  of  Unita- 
rian Christians.  Many  of  them  were  educated  in  a 
different  creed  ;  but  have  been  made  Unitarians  solely 
by  the  diligent,  prayerful  study  of  the  Bible.  The  Bi- 
ble is  our  only  confession  of  faith,  —  it  is  to  us  at  once 
the  pillar  and  the  ground  of  the  truth.  But  we  con- 
tend for  the  right  of  appealing  for  authority  on  all  con- 
troverted points  to  the  Scriptures  as  originally  written. 
Our  common  translation,  we  regard  as  in  the  main  ac- 
curate,—  as  generally  representing  the  sense  of  the 
sacred  writers.  But  our  translators  were  uninspired 
and  fallible  men.  They  were  many  men,  and  en- 
dowed with  different  degrees  of  learning  and  acumen. 
They  were  the  partizans  of  peculiar  views  of  Cliristian 
truth  and  of  ecclesiastical  government.  They  were 
appointed  to  their  work  by  a  shallow-minded  and  pe- 
dantic monarch,  who  gave  them  in  some  respects  ex- 
press and  peremptory  rules  of  procedure,  which  they 
dared  not  violate.  They  lived  also  in  the  infancy  of 
biblical  criticism.  Since  their  day,  many  ancient  Man- 
uscripts of  the  New  Testament  have  been  brought  to 
light,  and  collated  with  each  other,  and  with  the  ear- 
liest versions,  so  that  the  Greek  text,  now  received 
among  critics  of  all  denominations,  presents  not  a 
few  deviations  from  the  '  received  text,'  so  called, 
which  was  the  basis  of  their  translation.  For  these 
reasons,  we  must,  in  matters  of  controversy,  some- 
times appeal  from  the  translation  to  the  original.  All 
Christian  scholars  do  this.  I  shall  make  such  appeals 
occasionally,  though  very  seldom,  in  the  following  Lec- 
tures ;  but,  when  I  refer  to  the  original,   it  will  not  be 


THE     SCRIPTURES.  *  25 

to  my  own  peculiar  views,  or  to  the  view^s  of  any  one 
denomination,  as  to  what  the  text  of  the  original  ought 
to  be.  I  shall  always  refer  to  the  text  of  the  original, 
as  settled  by  the  researches  of  learned  men  of  various 
denominations,  and  as  received  by  enlightened  Chris- 
tians of  every  portion  of  the  Church. 

With  the  views  of  Scripture  now  unfolded  and  ex- 
plained, the  question  to  be  answered  in  the  following 
Lectures  is  simply  this  :  What  testimony  do  the  sacred 
writings,  in  their  original  form  and  fairly  interpreted, 
bear  with  reference  to  God,  to  Christ,  and  to  the  na- 
ture, duty,  and  destiny  of  man  ?  My  sole  design  and 
purpose  is  to  reason  from  the  Scriptures  ;  my  only  ob- 
ject is  to  receive  and  to  communicate  the  light  of  God's 
revealed  word  upon  those  departments  of  religious 
truth,  on  w^hich  Christians  are  the  most  widely  at  vari- 
ance. And  my  sincere  prayer  for  you  and  for  myself 
is,  that  the  Infinite  Spirit  of  truth  may  guide  us  into  all 
truth,  and  through  the  truth  may  redeem  and  sanctify 
us. 


LECTURE   I. 


THE  DIVINE  NATURE. 

EPHESIANS   IV.  6. 

ONE  GOD  AND  FATHER  OF  ALL,  WHO  IS  ABOVE  ALL,  AND  THROUGH  ALL,  AND 

IN  YOU  ALL. 

My  object,  in  the  course  of  lectures  which  I  now 
commence,  is  to  exhibit,  so  far  as  I  am  able,  a  fair  and 
candid  view  of  the  points,  on  which  most  of  us  differ 
from  other  classes  of  Christians,  and  of  the  grounds,  on 
which  our  peculiar  views  rest.  In  doing  this,  it  will  of 
course  be  necessary  for  me  to  make  reference  to  the 
creeds  of  others  ;  but  such  reference  will  be  made  as 
seldom  as  possible,  in  a  spirit  of  unfeigned  kindness, 
and,  I  trust,  in  a  kindly  tone  and  manner.  My  aim  is, 
not  controversy,  but  truth.  I  wish  to  aid  you  in  the 
establishment  of  your  own  faith,  not  to  furnish  you  with 
the  means  of  attacking  your  neighbors.  I  wish  to  have 
you  capable  of  maintaining  and  defending  your  views  of 
Christian  truth  when  they  are  assailed,  and  of  instruct- 
ing in  them  the  young  and  inquiring  ;  but  should  be  ex- 
ceedingly sorry  to  see  among  you  that  proselyting  spirit, 
which  would  make  incursions  into  other  folds,  or  hurl 
the  missiles  of  theological  warfare  at  those,  who  have 
adopted  other  modes  of  faith.     Equally  sorry  should  I 


28  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

be,   that  you  should   take   any  views  of  truth  on   my 
authority.     Let  me  act  only  as  your  pioneer. 

Our  text  implies  the  unity  of  God.  This  doctrine 
there  is  no  need  of  our  defending  against  Polytheism. 
;  But  there  has  grown  up  in  the  Christian  church  a  doc-, 
/  trine,  which,  to  those  who  reject  it,  seems  as  much  op- 
'  posed  to  the  divine  unity,  as  any  form  of  Polytheism 
is.  I  mean  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Tliis  will 
be  my  subject  this  evening.  We  will  first  inquire 
whether  the  Bible  teaches,  or  implies,  the  view  of  the 
divine  nature  designated  by  this  word  ;  and,  if  it  shall 
appear  that  the  Bible  teaches  no  such  doctrine,  we  will 
then  endeavor  to  ascertain  whence  it  comes.  I  shall 
reserve  for  future  lectures  the  arguments  for  and  against 
the  supreme  divinity  of  our  Saviour,  and  for  and  against 
the  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  shall  confine 
myself  this  evening  to  the  single  point  of  a  threefold 
distinction  in  the  divine  nature. 

We  ought  at  the  outset  to  define  the  Trinity.  But 
here  we  are  thrown  into  confusion  ;  for  hardly  any  two 
writers  will  agree  upon  the  same  definition.  We  may, 
however,  classify  the  definitions  given,  and  may  thus 
show  the  different  senses,  in  which  this  doctrine  has 
been  professed  and  held. 

I.  There  are  many  professed  Trinitarians,  particu- 
larly of  the  English  church,  who  maintain  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  first  person  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  subordi- 
1  nate  rank  of  the  other  two.  This  was  the  belief  of 
Bishop  Bull,  who  wrote  much  upon  the  subject,  w^as 
'  called  in  England  a  Trinitarian,  and  was  deemed  an 
able  defender  of   the  creed   of   his   own  church,   but 


THE    DIVINE     NATURE.  29 

whose  writings  would  pass,  (and  justly,)  as  Unitarian, 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Indeed,  his  is  nearly  the 
same  doctrine,  on  account  of  which.  Rev.  Noah  and 
Thomas  Worcester,  of  our  own  State,  were,  thirty  or 
forty  years  ago,  cast  out  as  heretics  by  their  clerical 
brethren  ;  and  a  singular  fact  it  is,  that,  for  similar 
views,  similarly  expressed.  Christian  ministers  should, 
on  one  side  of  the  Atlantic,  be  crowned  with  fame  and 
honor,  in  a  Trinitarian  church,  as  defenders  of  the  faith, 
and  on  the  other  side  should  be  compelled  to  take  up 
the  cross  of  persecution,  and  bear  the  reproach  of  here- 
sy. But  our  American  clergy  were  right.  The  sec- 
ond and  third  persons  of  the  Trinity  either  are  self- 
existent,  or  were  created.  If  self-existent,  they  must 
needs  be  independent.  Having  within  themselves  the 
cause  of  their  own  existence,  they  must  be  complete 
and  self-sufficient,  so  that  they  cannot  have  come  into 
subjection  to  any  other  being.  But,  according  to  Bishop 
Bull,  they  are  subordinate  ;  and,  if  subordinate,  they 
are  not  self-existent,  but  must  have  been  created,  can- 
not then  have  existed  from  eternity,  and  therefore  are 
not  God.  Bishop  Bull,  indeed,  admits  that  they  were 
derived  from  the  divine  essence,  which  is  merely  an 
obscure  and  involved  way  of  saying,  that  they  were 
created  out  of  nothing. 

2.  There  are  others,  (and  they  are  very  numerous  in 
our  own  country,)  who  understand  by  the  Trinity  a 
threefold  classification  of  the  divine  attributes.  Accord- 
ing to  this  view,  God,  being  still  one  and  the  same 
being,  in  nature  and  providence,  is  called  the  Father, — 

in  the  work  of  redemption,  the  Son,  —  in  his  convert- 
3* 


30  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

ing  and  sanctifying  influences,  the  Holy  Spirit.  Thus 
we  have  God  the  Creator  and  Preserver,  God  manifest 
in  the  flesh,  and  God  dwelling  and  working  in  the 
human  soul  ;  and  these  three,  not  separate  beings,  but 
the  same  being  regarded  in  three  different  aspects. 
This  is  the  view  presented  in  that  very  popular  doctri- 
nal work.  Abbot's  Corner  Stone  ;  and,  from  the  gen- 
eral acceptance  which  this  book  has  found,  I  infer  that 
this  view  of  the  Trinity  is  not  deemed  heretical.  But 
it  differs  from  Unitarianism  only  in  name  and  in  form  of 
statement. 

3.  Another  form,  in  which  the  Trinity  has  been 
held,  supposes  three  distinct  and  equal  divine  minds 
united  by  a  mutual  consciousness  of  each  other's  voli- 
tions and  acts.  Sherlock,  an  eminent  divine  of  the 
Church  of  England,  says  :  '  To  say  that  there  are  three 
divine  persons,  and  not  three  distinct  infinite  minds,  is 
both  heresy  and  nonsense.  The  distinction  of  persons 
cannot  be  more  truly  and  aptly  represented,  than  by  the 
distinction  between  three  men  ;  for  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  are  as  really  distinct  persons,  as  Peter, 
James,  and  John.  We  must  allow  the  divine  persons 
to  be  real,  substantial  beings.'  Howe,  the  celebrated 
Calvinistic  divine,  speaks  of  the  three  divine  persons  as 
'  distinct,  individual,  necessarily  existing,  spiritual  be- 
ings,' forming  together  '  the  most  delicious  society.' 
This  comes  nearer  an  intelligible  doctrine  than  most 
statements  of  the  Trinity.  But  it  sounds  strangely 
like  Tritheism  ;  and  I  hardly  know  how  those,  who 
maintain  it,  can  be  said  to  believe  in  the  unity  of  God. 

4.  There  is  another  class  of  Trinitarians,  probably 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  31 

tlie  largest  of  all,  who  profess  to  believe  the  doctrine, 
without  attempting  to  understand  or  explain  it  ;  that  is, 
they  hold  the  phraseology  of  the  doctrine  sacred,  but 
attach  no  meaning  to  it.  The  nearest  approach  that 
they  can  make  to  a  definition  of  the  Trinity,  is,  to  say 
that  it  is  three  somewhats  somehoio  united. 

Such  are  the  various  forms,  in  which  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  is  held  in  the  Christian  church,  —  forms  so 
diverse  from  each  other,  that,  were  we  to  define  the 
Trinity,  so  as  to  include  the  views  of  all  who  profess  to 
believe  in  it,  we  could  only  say  that  it  denotes  God  to 
be  both  three  and  one.   • 

Let  us  now  see  whether  the  Bible  teaches  a  Trinity. 
This  doctrine,  if  it  be  true,  is  of  the  utmost  interest 
and  moment,  and  ought  to  mould  and  shape  all  our  re- 
ligious notions,  and  to  be  recognized  in  all  our  praises 
and  our  prayers.  We  should,  therefore,  expect  to  see 
it  very  clearly  set  forth  in  a  revelation,  purporting  to 
come  from  God.  But  so  far  is  this  from  being  the 
case,  that  Trinitarians  do  not  quote  a  single  text  as 
declarative  of  this  prime  article  of  their  creed.  They 
admit  that  it  is  nowhere  distinctly  stated  in  the  Bible. 
Formerly,  the  three  stories  of  Noah's  ark,  and  the 
proverb,  '  A  threefold  cord  is  not  easily  broken,'  oc- 
cupied a  prominent  place  among  Trinitarian  proof- 
texts  ;  but  no  one  would  think  of  using  them  now,  and 
there  remains  not  a  single  text  from  the  Old  Testament, 
which  Trinitarians  now  cite  as  designating  a  threefold 
distinction  in  the  divine  nature. 

There  are,  however,  numerous  instances,  in  which, 
w^hen  the  Almighty  is  spoken  of  in  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 


32 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 


tures,  a  plural  form  is  used,  —  sometimes  a  plural  noun 
connected  with  a  singular  verb,  —  sometimes  a  plural 
pronoun  with  a  plural  verb,  when  God  is  represented 
as  speaking  in  the  first  person.  The  Hebrew  word  in 
the  Old  Testament  most  frequently  translated  God,  is 
EloJmn,  a  plural  noun,  literally  meaning  gods  ;  but  it  Is 
usually  connected  with  verbs  in  the  singular,  so  as  to 
indicate  that  but  one  person  is  denoted  by  the  plural 
noun.  There  are  also  several  instances,  in  which  we 
find  such  forms  of  speech  as  these  :  '  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness,'  —  'Let  us  go 
down,  and  there  confound  their  language.'  Now  though 
this  form  of  speech  has  often  been  quoted  to  prove  a 
plurality  of  persons  in  the  divine  nature,  I  can  hardly 
conceive  of  its  being  quoted,  with  such  a  purpose,  by 
any  person  moderately  well  acquainted  with  the  Hebrew 
tongue.  This  plural  form  is  a  common  Hebrew  idiom, 
employed  whenever  anything  of  peculiar  dignity  or 
magnitude  is  spoken  of  Grammarians  call  it  the  plural 
of  excellence^  or  majesty  ;  and  truly  learned  and  can- 
did Trinitarians  admit  that  it  is  nothing  more.  Calvin, 
whose  orthodoxy  none  will  doubt,  sets  aside  this  argu- 
ment for  the  Trinity.  Professor  Stuart,  in  his  Hebrew 
Grammar,  speaks  of  this  form  as  simply  denoting  dig- 
nity or  majesty,  and  as  having  no  connection  with  the 
idea  of  plurality.  Permit  me  to  give  you  one  or  two 
examples  of  the  way,  in  which  this  plural  of  excellence 
is  employed.  You  all  remember,  in  the  book  of  Job, 
the  description  of  the  behemoth,  by  which  is  probably 
meant  the  hippopotamus.  Behemoth  is  the  plural  of 
behemahj  which  means  a  beast.     As  used  in  Job,  it  is 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  33 

a  plural  noun  joined  with  singular  verbs  and  pronouns, 
and  evidently  means  a  great  beast ;  and  the  hippopota- 
mus was  denoted  by  this  indefinite  word,  expressing  his 
vast  size  and  strength,  because  there  was  no  name  for 
him  in  the  Hebrew.  The  same  plural  form  is  used 
when  false  gods  are  spoken  of.  Baalim  and  Ashtaroth 
are  plural  nouns.  '  The  lords  of  the  Philistines  gather- 
ed them  together,  to  offer  a  great  sacrifice  unto  Dagon, 
their  god,'*  literally,  gods.^  The  same  plural  word  is 
used,  when  the  Almighty  says  to  Moses,  '  See,  I  have 
made  thee  a  god,  literally,  gods,  (elohim,)  to  Pharaoh. 'f 
Where  it  is  said  that  the  butler  and  baker  '  had  offend- 
ed their  lord  the  king  of  Egypt,'  \  the  Hebrew  word  is 
lords,  (one  of  the  plural  titles  of  the  Almighty  ;)  and 
so  it  is  where  Joseph's  brethren  say  of  him  :  '  The  man 
who  is  the  lord,  literally,  lords,  of  the  land,  spake 
roughly  unto  us.'§  Many  of  you  well  know  what  the 
Septuagint  is,  —  a  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, made  by  learned  Jews  long  prior  to  the  Christian 
era.  These  Jews  must  of  course  have  understood  their 
own  language,  and  must  have  known  whether  there  was 
any  mysterious  signification  couched  in  Elohim,  and 
other  kindred  forms  ;  but  they  invariably  render  these 
Hebrew  plurals  by  Greek  nouns  in  the  singular,  with- 
out any  additional  qualifying  words. 

There  is  another  consideration  of  great  weight,  with 
reference,  not  to  this  point  alone,  but  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment generally,  and  one  which  demonstrates  beyond 
dispute,  that  the  Trinity  was  not  taught  in  the  Jewish 

*  Judges  xvi.  23.  t  Exodus  vii.  1. 

t  Genesis  xl.  1.  §  Genesis  xlii.  30. 


34  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

scriptures.  It  is  this  :  the  Jews,  in  general,  both  in 
ancient  and  modern  times,  have  been  opjDOsed  to  this 
doctrine,  have  left  no  trace  of  it  in  their  standard  com- 
mentaries and  religious  works,  and  have  resisted  the 
use  of  their  sacred  writings  in  proof  of  it.  There  was 
indeed  a  seeming  exception  to  this  remark,  in  a  numer- 
ous sect  of  Platonistic  Jews,  whose  head-quarters  were 
at  Alexandria.  They,  in  common  with  the  later  Pla- 
tonists  generally,  maintained  a  Trinity,  yet  less  as  a 
theological  than  as  a  philosophical  dogma,  drawing  their 
authority  for  it  less  from  Moses  and  the  prophets,  than 
from  Plato  and  his  disciples,  from  whom,  as  I  believe, 
it  crept  into  the  Christian  church.  These  Trinitarian 
Jews  have  had  a  few  successors  in  more  recent  times. 
But  to  the  Jews  in  general,  the  Trinity  has  been  for 
ages,  and  still  is,  the  greatest  stumbling-block  in  the 
way  of  their  conversion  to  Christianity.  It  is  univer- 
sally admitted,  that  a  very  large  part  of  the  early  Jew- 
ish converts  rejected  the  Trinity  ;  and  it  is  a  striking 
and  significant  fact,  that  great  numbers  of  the  Jews 
continued  to  become  Christians  up  to  the  date,  when,  as 
we  believe,  the  Trinity  was  foisted  into  the  Christian 
system,  while,  since  that  date,  the  conversion  of  a  sin- 
gle Jew  has  been  one  of  the  rarest  events. 

These  facts  indicate  that  the  Trinity  could  have  form- 
ed no  part  of  the  Jewish  revelation.  But,  if  this  were 
the  case,  we  should  expect  to  find  this  doctrine  formal- 
ly and  explicitly  announced  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
occupying  there  the  prominent  place,  which  of  right 
belongs  to  a  radically  new  view  of  the  divine  nature. 
But  how  is  this  ?     It  is  not  pretended  that  there  is  in 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  35 

the  New  Testament  any  express  declaration  of  this 
doctrine  ;  and  there  are  quoted  but  two  texts,  in  which 
the  names  of  the  three  persons  are  said  to  be  placed 
together  in  such  a  way,  as  strongly  to  imply  a  trinity 
in  unity. 

The  text  most  relied  on  is  the  form  of  baptism  '  in 
or  into  the  name  of  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  or  Spirit.'  *     One  would  think,  at  first 
sight,  that  this  form  implied  anything  rather  than  three 
equal  persons  ;  for  what  mean  the  terms,  Father  and 
Son  9    If  they  mean  anything,  must  they  not  denote  the 
derived  and  subordinate  existence  of  him,  who  is  term- 
ed the  Son  ?     It  is  of  no  avail  to  call  this  an  unsearch- 
able mystery      The  words  Father  and  Son,  as  used  in 
this  connection,  either  mean  something  or  nothing.     If 
nothing,  then  does  the  Bible  mock  man's  ignorance  by 
the  wanton  use  of  words  without  meaning.     But  if  they 
mean  anything,  they  must  at  least  denote  that  the  Son 
owes  his   existence  to  a  Father,  therefore  is  not  self- 
existent,  and  consequently  is  not  God.     Yet  more,  the 
words  employed  in  this  text  to  denote  the  Holy  Spirit 
are,  in  the  original,  a  neuter  noun  and  adjective  ;  and, 
though  words  in  the  neuter  gender  might  naturally  be 
used  to  signify  a  divine  influence,  we  can  hardly  sup- 
pose that  they  would  be  selected  to  designate  a  divine 
person.      Is  it  said,  that  the  sacred  writers  could  not 
have  thus  connected  unequal  names  }     What  shall  we 
say  then  of  this  passage,  — '  All  the  congregation     . 
.     .     .     .     worshipped   the   Lord   and  the   king  ? '  f 

♦  Matthew  xxviii.  19.  t  i  Chron.  xxix.  20. 


36  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

Or  of  this,  —  '  I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  elect  angels  ? '  *  Is  it  said,  that, 
baptism  being  a  form  of  dedication,  the  sacred  writers 
could  not  have  connected  with  it  any  but  divine  names  ? 
I  reply,  that  the  Israelites  are  said  by  St.  Paul  to  have 
been  '  baptized  unto  Moses,'  f  and  that  he  also  speaks 
of  the  disciples  of  Christ  as  having  been  '  baptized  into 
his  death.':}:  In  the  former  instance,  men  are  said  to 
be  baptized  unto  one,  who  confessedly  is  not  God  ;  and 
in  the  latter,  into  what,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  not  a 
person. 

The  form  of  baptism  depends  not  for  its  appropriate- 
ness on  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  The  infant  or  the 
convert,  on  being  initiated  into  the  church  of  Christ,  is 
most  naturally  and  fittingly  consecrated  to  the  Father 
God,  whom  Jesus  revealed  and  manifested,  to  the  great 
Teacher  himself,  and  to  the  regenerating  and  sanctify- 
ing influence  from  heaven,  without  which  one  cannot 
truly  be  a  Christian. 

The  other  Trinitarian  proof-text  is  the  apostolic  ben- 
ediction :  '  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  be  with  you  all. '§  This  proves  nothing.  Had 
a  formal  statement  of  the  Trinity  been  here  intended, 
the  second  person  would  not  have  been  placed  first. 
The  obvious  sense  of  the  benediction  is  :  '  May  the 
favor  of  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  the  love  of  his 
God  and  your  God,  and  the  free  and  constant  partici- 
pation of  his  sanctifying  influences,  be  yours  forever.' 

*  1  Tim.  V.  21.       +1  Cor.  x.  2.       t  Rom.  vi.  3.       §  2  Cor.  xiii.  14. 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 


37 


These  are  the  only  texts,  which  Trinitarians  in  gen- 
eral cite  as  declarative  of  a  threefold  distinction  in  the 
divine  nature.  There  still  stands  in  our  English  Bible, 
a  text,  which  more  than  implies  the  Trinity.  It  is  this  : 
'  There  are  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the 
Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three 
are  one.'*  It  is  now  admitted,  on  all  sides,  that  this 
verse  formed  no  part  of  the  original  text  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  highest  authority  for  the  text  of  the 
New  Testament  is  that  of  ancient  Greek  manuscripts, 
of  which  several  hundreds  of  either  a  whole  or  a  part 
of  the  New  Testament,  bearing  date  from  the  fourth 
century  down  to  the  invention  of  the  art  of  printing, 
have  been  examined  and  collated.  No  less  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  of  these  manuscripts  contain  the  first 
epistle  of  John  ;  but  the  text  in  question  is  not  found 
in  one  of  them.  The  next  highest  authority  is  that  of 
manuscripts  of  ancient  versions  of  the  New  Testament. 
This  text  is  wanting  in  all  of  this  class  of  manuscripts, 
except  in  those  of  the  Vulgate  Latin,  and  is  wanting  in 
all  the  earliest  manuscripts,  even  of  that.  The  next 
highest  authority  is  that  of  the  numerous  Scriptural  quo- 
tations of  the  earher  Christian  writers.  Now,  none  of 
the  Greek  fathers,  who  used  the  New  Testament  in  its 
original,  have  quoted  this  text,  or  recognized  its  exist- 
ence, no,  not  even  in  the  height  of  the  Arian  contro- 
versy, when  every  text  that  could  be  made  available 
was  pressed  into  the  service.  This  text  was  not  print- 
ed in  the  earliest  printed  editions  of  the  Greek  Testa- 


*  1  John  V.  7. 


38  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

ment ;  and,  when  it  was  first  printed,  it  was  translated 
into  the  Greek  from  the  Latin  of  the  Vulgate,  —  the 
accredited  version  of  the  Romish  church.  Erasmus, 
the  greatest  biblical  scholar  at  the  era  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, had  published  two  editions  of  the  New  Testament 
without  inserting  this  text.  He  was  earnestly  remon- 
strated with  for  omitting  it ;  and  his  reply  was,  that  he 
would  insert  it,  if  a  single  Greek  manuscript  containing 
it  could  be  found.  A  manuscript  was  found  and  sent 
him,  — a  manuscript  undoubtedly  prepared  for  that  ex- 
press purpose,  as  there  are  no  traces  of  its  previous 
existence.  He,  to  make  his  promise  good,  inserted  the 
disputed  text  in  his  third  edition  ;  and  it  so  happened 
that  this  third  edition  became  the  basis  of  the  generally 
received  Greek  text,  which  was  used  by  King  James's 
translators.  Such  is  the  history  of  the  only  text  in  the 
Bible,  which  indisputably  stands  where  it  has  no  right- 
ful place.  But  it  occupies  this  place  chiefly  in  editions 
and  translations  of  the  Vulgate,  and  in  our  common 
English  Bibles.  Tt  is  omitted  in  critical  editions  of  the 
Greek  Testament.  Luther  omitted  it  in  his  German 
Bible  ;  Calvin  spoke  doubtingly  of  it  ;  nor  do  I  find  a 
single  critic  or  commentator,  however  orthodox,  who 
leaves  it  unquestioned.  Wardlaw,  the  most  able  cham- 
pion of  the  Trinity  within  the  range  of  my  reading, 
says  of  this  text  :  '  This  text  should  have  been  entitled 
to  hold  the  first  place,  if  its  genuineness  had  been  un- 
disputed, or  disputed  on  slender  grounds.  I  freely 
acknowledge,  however,  that  the  evidence  of  the 
spuriousness  of  this  celebrated  passage,  if  it  were  even 
much  less  conclusive  than  in  my  own  mind  it  appears 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  39 

to  be,  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  prevent  me  from  rest- 
ing upon  it  any  part  of  the  weight  of  my  argument.' 

So  much  for  this  text.  But  let  me  in  connection 
with  it,  though  rambling  from  my  main  subject,  say  a 
word  upon  the  certainty,  which  we  enjoy,  that  the  New 
Testament  has  come  down  to  us  substantially  as  it  was 
at  first  written.  These  hundreds  of  manuscripts,  these 
ancient  versions,  these  numerous  and  copious  quota- 
tions by  the  fathers  of  the  church,  constitute  a  vast 
array  of  witnesses,  who  all  agree  in  testifying  to  the 
genuineness,  sentence  for  sentence,  and  almost  word  for 
word,  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  as  we  have  them.  To 
be  sure,  slips  of  the  pen  in  transcribing  have  produced 
many  slight  differences,  corresponding  to  the  misprints 
in  a  printed  book.  But,  in  the  whole  of  the  New 
Testament,  there  is  not  a  single  sentence,  not  a  single 
phrase  of  importance,  and  there  are  but  two  words  of 
essential  significance,  with  regard  to  which  the  vast 
majority  of  the  witnesses  do  not  agree. 

You  must,  I  think,  see  with  me  on  how  frail  a  found- 
ation the  Scriptural  argument  for  the  Trinity  rests. 
There  is  one  other  consideration,  to  which  I  would 
allude  with  all  possible  brevity.  The  first  person  of 
the  Trinity  is  termed  the  Father  ;  but  did  it  never 
occur  to  you,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  deprives 
him  of  all  his  fatherly  attributes,  and  transfers  them  to 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Their  offices  are  all 
fatherly  ;  his  are  those  of  the  relentless  potentate  and 
judge.  For  which  is  the  true  Father,  —  he,  who 
gives  his  life  a  ransom  for  the  children  ;  or  he,  who 
demands  and  receives  the   full   price  for  their  blood  ^ 


40  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

Which  is  the  true  Father,  —  he,  who  sits  cold  and 
stern  at  the  hehu  of  the  universe  ;  or  he,  who  draws 
nigh  to  the  children's  hearts  in  breathings  of  counsel, 
comfort,  and  hope  ?  If  this  distinction  between  the 
three  persons  have  any  reality,  is  not  he  that  redeems, 
or  he  that  sanctifies,  the  Father  ?  To  which  of  these 
three  persons  does  the  Trinitarian  come  with  the  fullest 
assurance,  in  the  most  confiding  manner,  with  the  most 
trustful  spirit  ?  Not  to  the  Father,  (so  called,)  but  to 
the  Son.  To  the  Father  go  up  the  cold  and  formal 
vows,  the  set  praises  ;  to  the  Son,  the  warm  outpour- 
ings of  the  full  heart,  and  those  inward  groanings,  too 
deep,  too  fervent  for  utterance.  Nor  can  it  be  rejoin- 
ed, in  answer  to  this  reasoning,  that  the  first  person  of 
the  Trinity  is  called  Father  with  reference  to  the  other 
two  persons,  and  not  with  reference  to  man.  For  the 
being,  whom  Jesus  calls  Father,  he  continually  sets 
forth  as  man's  Father.  In  talking  to  his  disciples,  he 
calls  him  your  Father,  as  often  as  my  Father  ;  and 
even  calls  him  by  both  titles  in  the  same  sentence,  as, 
for  instance,  when  he  says  :  '  I  ascend  unto  my  Father 
and  your  Father.'*  Thus  are  the  details  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  at  war  with  its  phraseology.  Does 
not  this  discrepancy  indicate  the  error  of  man,  rather 
than  the  wisdom  of  God  ^  Would  it  not  seem  a  mock- 
ery of  human  ignorance,  for  the  Almighty  to  set  forth 
his  mere  abstract  essence,  dread  power,  and  infinite 
wisdom,  and  bid  men  call  that  cold  abstraction  Father^ 
and  to  refuse  this  dearest  of  all  names  for  those  of  his 

*  John  XX.  17. 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  41 

attributes,  to  which  his  children  cling  with  filial  confi- 
dence and  love,  —  to  make  them  cry,  Ahha^  Father^ 
where  they  feel  not  the  spirit  of  the  adoption,  and  to 
suppress  that  cry,  where  the  heart  is  bursting  to  give  it 
utterance  ?  This  must  verily  be  the  commandment  of 
men,  and  not  the  doctrine  of  God. 

But  whence  crept  the  Trinity  into  the  Christian  fold  ^ 
This  question  I  shall  now  answer  by  giving  as  brief  a 
sketch  as  possible  of  the  history  of  the  Trinity.  But 
the  first  part  of  my  history  must  be  that  of  simple 
Unitarianism  ;  for  vestiges  of  no  other  form  of  doctrine 
can  be  traced  back  farther  than  the  third  century,  nor 
can  we  find  any  evidence  that  the  doctrine  of  three 
equal  persons  in  the  Godhead  w^as  maintained  till  late 
in  the  fourth  century.  I  am  prepared  to  state,  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  equality 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  cannot  be  found 
in  any  work  of  the  three  first  centuries,  and  that  there 
cannot  be  found,  with  reference  to  the  divine  nature,  in 
any  genuine  Christian  work  of  the  first  two  centuries, 
any  statement  of  doctrine,  equivalent,  or  approaching 
to,  or  consistent  with,  the  modern  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity. Is  it  said,  that,  because  there  was  no  controversy 
about  this  doctrine,  it  was  passed  over  in  silence  }  I 
reply,  that,  as  the  Christian  fathers  wrote  chiefly  about 
the  divine  nature,  attributes,  and  will,  if  they  had  this 
idea,  they  could  not  have  failed  to  use  corresponding 
phraseology  ;  for  Trinitarian  phraseology  is  now  used 
by  Trinitarians,   not  only  in   controversial  writings,  but 

in  prayers  and  in  practical  sermons,  and  has  been  freely 

4* 


42  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

used  during  ages  when  the  doctrine  was  received  with- 
out opposition  or  dissent. 

Yet  farther,  it  is  as  certain  as  any  fact  in  history, 
that  the  Trinity  was  not  in  primitive  times  the  doctrine 
of  the  whole  church,  even  if  we  were  to  admit  that  it 
was  held  by  a  part  of  the  church.  No  ecclesiastical 
historian  denies  or  doubts  that  the  Judaizing  Christians 
of  Palestine,  who  formed  distinct  sects  early  in  the 
second  century,  were  Unitarians.  There  were  two 
sects  of  these  Christians,  —  the  Ebionites  and  the 
Nazarenes.  The  Ebionites  believed  Jesus  to  have 
been  a  mere  man,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  ;  and 
they  are  uniformly  spoken  of  by  the  Orthodox  fathers 
as  heretics.  The  Nazarenes  believed  in  the  miraculous 
birth  and  superhuman  dignity  of  Jesus,  but  regarded 
him  as  a  created  and  finite  being  ;  and  they  seem  to 
have  been  regarded  as  Orthodox  in  the  earliest  times, 
and  are  not  spoken  of  as  heretics  till  the  fourth  century. 
For  these  facts,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  refer  you  to  the 
ecclesiastical  history  of  Mosheim,  himself  a  Trinitarian. 
Now  could  the  Trinity  have  been  believed  by  the  great 
body  of  the  church  during  the  first  three  centuries,  and 
these  Nazarenes  have  been  left  without  anathema  and 
obloquy  ? 

There  is  yet  another  remark  of  importance  to  be 
made  with  regard  to  the  early  Christian  writings.  They 
consisted  not  only  of  works  for  the  edification  of  those 
within  the  church,  but  many  of  them  were  written  for 
the  defence  and  propagation  of  the  new  faith,  and  were 
addressed  to  Jews  and  Pagans,  —  to  the  opposers  and 
persecutors  of  the  church.     In  writings  of  this  class. 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 


43 


the  most  important  doctrine  of  the  whole  Christian  sys- 
tem could  not  have  been  passed  over  in  silence.  It 
must  needs  have  been  clearly  stated  and  expounded  for 
the  benefit  of  the  uninitiated,  and  elaborately  defended 
against  doubts  and  objections.  Let  us  see  then  what 
kind  of  language  the  early  advocates  of  Christianity 
used  in  propagating  and  defending  their  religion. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  Peter  addressed  a  con- 
fused, skeptical,  and  mocking  multitude,  many  of  whom 
had  come  from  afar,  and  were  utter  strangers  to  the 
new  religion.  Hear  his  simple  statement,  which  made, 
we  are  told,  three  thousand  converts.  '  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, a  man  approved  of  God  among  you,  by  miracles, 
and  wonders,  and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him  in  the 
midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves  also  know  ;  him,  being 
delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge 
of  God,  ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have  cru- 
cified and  slain,  whom  God  hath  raised  up.'*  Hear 
also  in  what  terms  Paul  preached  Jesus  for  the  first 
time  before  the  superstitious  and  idolatrous  Athenians. 
'  He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath 
ordained,  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance  unto  all 
men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.'  f  Hear 
also  St.  Paul's  synopsis  of  his  own  preaching,  in  that 
bold,  manly  defence  before  Agrippa,  in  which  you  will 
all  feel  that  it  was  infinitely  beneath  the  apostle's 
character  to  have  used  concealment  or  equivocation. 
'  I  continue  unto  this  day,  witnessing  both  to  small  and 

*  Acts  ii.  22-24.  t  Acts  xvii.  31. 


44  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

great,  saying  none  other  things  than  those  which  the 
prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come  :  that  Christ 
should  suffer,  and  that  he  should  be  the  first  that  should 
rise  from  the  dead,  and  should  shew  light  unto  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  the  Gentiles.'*  ^Saying  none  other 
things,^  —  could  St.  Paul  have  honestly  made  such  a 
denial  as  this,  if  he  had  preached  so  novel  and  mo- 
mentous a  view  of  the  divine  nature  as  the  Trinity 
unfolds,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  this  must 
have  been  an  entirely  unknown  doctrine  to  Agrippa  } 

The  only  other  Christian  apologist,  whom  I  have 
time  to  quote,  is  Justin  Martyr,  who  addressed  a  de- 
fence of  Christianity  to  Antoninus  Pius  about  the  year 
140,  and  about  the  same  time  wrote  a  defence  of 
Christianity  against  Jewish  objections,  in  the  form  of  a 
dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew.  Justin,  I  remark  in 
passing,  has  always  held  an  unquestioned  rank  among 
the  Orthodox  fathers.  Speaking  of  Jesus,  (in  the  dia- 
logue with  Trypho,)  he  says  :  *  The  Father  is  the 
author  to  him,  both  of  his  existence,  and  of  his  being 
,  powerful,  and  of  his  being  Lord  and  divine.'  '  He  was 
subordinate  to  the  Father,  and  a  minister  to  his  will.' 

I  will  now  offer  you  a  few  extracts  from  the  fathers 
of  the  first  three  or  four  centuries,  premising  that  I 
shall  quote  from  no  reputed  heretic,  but  only  from 
those,  whom  the  Trinitarians  regard  as  representatives 
of  the  Orthodoxy  of  their  times.  I  shall  have  no  diffi- 
culty, T  think,  in  showing  you  that  these  fathers  were 
what  we  now  call  Unitarians. 

*  Acts  xxvi.  22,  23. 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  45 

Clement  of  Rome,  a  personal  friend  of  St.  Paul, 
(believed  on  the  concurring  testimony  of  antiquity  to 
be  the  Clement  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  in  the  epistle 
to  the  Philippians,)*  styles  Jesus  'the  sceptre  of  the 
majesty  of  God.'  We  find,  towards  the  close  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  following  doxology,  — 
could  a  Trinitarian  have  written  it  ?  '  Now  God,  the 
Inspector  of  all  things,  the  Father  of  all  spirits,  and 
the  Lord  of  all  flesh,  who  has  chosen  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  us  by  him,  to  be  his  peculiar  people,  grant 
to  every  soul  of  man  that  calleth  upon  his  glorious  and 
holy  name,  faith,  fear,  peace,  long-suffering,  patience, 
temperance,  holiness,  and  sobriety,  unto  all  well- 
pleasing  in  his  sight,  through  our  High  Priest  and  Pro- 
tector, Christ  Jesus,  by  whom  be  glory,  and  majesty, 
and  power,  and  honor  unto  him,  now  and  forever.' 

Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  wTote  near  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century,  says  :  '  The  Mediator  per- 
forms the  will  of  the  Father.  The  Word  is  the 
Mediator,  being  common  to  both,  the  Seal  of  God 
and  the  Saviour  of  men,  God's  Servant  and  our  In- 
structor.' 

Origen,  the  most  learned  of  the  fathers,  wrote  about 
the  year  225.  He  says  :  '  The  Father  only  is  the 
Good  ;  and  the  Saviour,  as  he  is  the  image  of  the  in- 
visible God,  so  is  he  the  image  of  his  goodness.'  '  If 
we  know  what  prayer  is,  we  must  not  pray  to  any  cre- 
ated being,  not  to  Christ  himself,  but  only  to  God,  the 
Father  of  all,  to  whom   our   Saviour  himself  prayed.' 

*  Philippians  iv.  3. 


46  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

'  We  are  not  to  pray  to  a  brother,  who  has  the  same 
Father  with  ourselves,  Jesus  himself  saying,  that  we 
must  pray  to  the  Father  through  the  Son.'  If  this  be 
not  Unitarianism,  what  is  it  .'' 

Eusebius,  the  father  of  ecclesiastical  history,  who 
wrote  about  the  year  320,  says  :  'There  is  one  God, 
and  the  only-begotten  comes  out  of  him.'  '  Christ, 
being  neither  the  Supreme  God,  nor  an  angel,  is  of  a 
middle  nature  between  them  ;  and,  being  neither  the 
Supreme  God,  nor  a  man,  but  the  Mediator,  is  in  the 
middle  between  them,  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God.' 
'  Christ,  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  and  the  first- 
born of  every  creature,  teaches  us  to  call  his  Father 
the  true  God,  and  commands  us  to  worship  him  only.' 

I  had  marked  for  quotation  many  more  extracts 
from  the  same  and  other  fathers  of  the  church  ;  but  I 
omit  them  for  the  sake  of  brevity.  And  now  let  me 
ask,  could  these  fathers  have  been  Trinitarians,  in  the 
modern  sense  of  that  word  ?  Could  a  modern  Trini- 
tarian have  written  the  passages  which  I  have  now 
quoted  ?  Had  I  quoted  them,  without  naming  their 
authors,  would  you  not  have  taken  them  for  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  Unitarian  divines  ?  I  trust  that 
there  is  no  need  of  my  saying,  that  I  have  endeavored 
to  represent  the  opinions  of  those  times  impartially. 
During  the  second  and  third  centuries,  from  a  source 
which  I  shall  shortly  indicate,  there  was  a  gradual  in- 
troduction of  Trinitarian  phraseology  into  the  church. 
But  I  no  more  believe  that  I  myself  am  a  Unitarian, 
than  I  do  that  the  Christian  fathers  of  the  first  three 
centuries,  whose  works  have  come   down   to  us,  were 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  47 

all  of  them  virtually  Unitarians.  Though,  from  the 
time  of  Justin  downward,  there  was  a  gradual  depart- 
ure from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  and  a  tendency 
towards  mystical  views  of  the  divine  nature,  and 
towards  the  recognition  of  a  threefold  distinction 
therein,  yet  I  believe,  that,  down  to  the  end  of  the 
second  century  at  least,  if  not  of  the  third,  the  doc- 
trine of  three  equal  persons  in  the  Godhead  would  have 
been  deemed  as  grossly  heretical,  as  that  of  the  undi- 
vided unity  of  God  is  anywhere  regarded  at  the  present 
time. 

We  have  now  reached  the  period  of  the  Arian 
controversy,  and  the  celebrated  Council  of  Nice. 
The  Arian  controversy  was  on  this  wise.  Alexander, 
bishop  of  Alexandria,  in  an  assembly  of  his  presby- 
ters, maintained  that  the  Son  was  of  the  same  essence 
with  the  Father.  This  assertion  was  opposed  by 
Arius,  one  of  his  presbyters,  who  maintained  that  the 
Son  was  totally  and  essentially  distinct  from  the 
Father,  being  the  first  and  noblest  of  his  creatures. 
The  dispute  waxed  warm,  each  side  finding  strong  and 
determined  champions,  until  at  length  Alexander  sum- 
moned a  numerous  council,  and  deposed  Arius  and 
his  adherents  from  their  offices  in  the  church.  Upon 
this,  the  controversy  spread  like  wildfire,  inflamed 
the  whole  church,  and  finally  led  to  the  summoning 
of  the  Council  of  Nice,  which  met  in  the  year  325, 
condemned  by  vote  of  the  majority  the  doctrine  of 
Arius,  procured  his  banishment  into  Illyria,  and  estab- 
lished what  is  called  the  Nicene  creed,  — a  creed  not 
strictly   Trinitarian,   though  strongly  tending  that  way. 


48  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

This  creed  applies  the  title  God  to  our  Saviour  ;  but 
calls  him  God  out  of  or  derived  from  God^  and  thus 
does  not  make  him  a  self-existent  and  independent 
being,  so  that  this  last  step  towards  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  Trinity  still  remained  to  be  taken.  There 
was  a  large  minority  of  the  Council  that  dissented  from 
this  creed,  though  it  was  backed  by  the  authority  of 
the  emperor  Constantine,  who  took  an  active  part  in 
the  session.  Only  five  years  afterwards,  the  emperor, 
having  become  an  Arian,  repealed  the  laws  against 
Arius,  and  instituted  a  series  of  oppressive  measures 
against  the  partizans  of  the  Nicene  creed.  Ten  years 
after  the  session  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  the  Council 
of  Tyre  deposed  Athanasius,  Alexander's  successor, 
and  reinstated  Arius  and  his  adherents  in  their  former 
offices  and  honors  in  the  Alexandrian  church.  From 
this  time,  for  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years,  the 
Arian  party  generally  had  the  supremacy  ;  and  the 
Nicene  creed  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  called 
the  creed  of  the  church  until  near  the  close  of  the 
fourth  century. 

The  Athanasian  creed  is  the  oldest  monument  ex- 
tant of  the  doctrine  of  three  literally  equal  persons 
in  the  Godhead.  This  was  probably  written  by  Hi- 
lary, who  died  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century. 
It  has  been  recognized  in  the  Romish  church  as  an 
authentic  compend  of  faith,  since  the  ninth  or  tenth 
century.  It  is  retained  in  the  English  book  of  com- 
mon prayer  ;  and  its  exclusion  from  the  service  of  the 
American  Episcopal  church  was  assented  to  with  great 
reluctance  by  their  transatlantic  brethren.  It  is  a  very 
long  and  prolix   document,    and   I   cannot  burden  you 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE,  49 

with  the  whole  of  it ;  yet  I  am  going  to  give  you  a 
pretty  long  extract  from  it,  for  two  reasons,  first,  that 
you  may  see  in  its  own  canonical  language  what  absur- 
dities and  contradictions  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity involves  ;  and,  secondly,  that  you  may  contrast 
it,  as  I  read  it,  with  the  'simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.' 
'  We  worship  one  God  in  Trinity,  and  Trinity  in 
unity  ;  neither  confounding  the  persons,  nor  dividing 
the  substance.  For  there  is  one  person  of  the  Father, 
another  of  the  Son,  and  another  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  the  Godhead  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  all  one,  the  glory  equal,  the  majesty 
coeternal.  Such  as  the  Father  is,  such  is  the  Son, 
and  such  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Father  uncreate, 
the  Son  uncreate,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  uncreate.  The 
Father  incomprehensible,  the  Son  incomprehensible, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  incomprehensible.  The  Father 
eternal,  the  Son  eternal,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  eternal. 
And  yet  there  are  not  three  eternals,  but  one  eternal. 
As  also  there  are  not  three  incomprehensibles,  nor 
three  uncreated  ;  but  one  uncreate  and  one  incompre- 
hensible. So  likewise,  the  Father  is  Almighty,  the 
Son  Almighty,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  Almighty.  And 
yet  there  are  not  three  Almighties  ;  but  one  Almighty. 
So  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  God.  And  yet  they  are  not  three  Gods,  but 
one  God.  So  likewise  the  Father  is  Lord,  the  Son 
Lord,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  Lord  ;  and  yet  not  three 
Lords,  but  one  Lord.  For  like  as  we  are  compelled 
by  the  Christian  verity  to  acknowledge  every  person 
by  himself  to  be  God  and  Lord,  so  are  we  forbidden 
5 


50  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

by  the  Catholic  religion  to  say,   There  be  three  Gods 

or  three  Lords And   in   this  Trinity,  none  is 

fore  or  after  other  ;  none  is  greater  or  less  than  anoth- 
er ;  but  the  whole  three  persons  are  coeternal  to- 
gether and  coequal.'  Of  all  which  and  much  more 
like  it,  the  creed  in  its  sequel  charitably  asserts,  and 
the  good  people  of  the  English  church  are  compelled 
by  the  rubric  to  hear  on  no  less  than  thirteen  Sundays 
and  festivals  in  the  year  :  '  Which  faith  except  every 
one  do  keep  whole  and  undefiled,  without  doubt  he 
shall  perish  everlastingly.'  The  only  appropriate 
response  to  this  would  be  in  the  words  of  the  apostles, 
'  Who  then  can  be  saved  ? ' 

We  have  now  seen  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
is  not  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  that  it  formed  no  part 
of  the  Christian  system  as  maintained  by  the  primitive 
church.  Whence  then  came  it  ?  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  referring  it  to  the  Platonic  philosophy.  Plato 
had  written  much  about  three  divine  principles,  which 
he  had  styled  the  One  or  the  Good,  Mind  or  Word, 
and  Soul  or  Spirit.  His  followers  had  talked  and 
written  mystically  about  these  same  three  principles, 
until  the  number  three  had  become  with  them  a  sacred 
number,  and  a  divine  Trinity  had  assumed  a  prom- 
inent place  among  the  doctrines  of  the  later  Platonists, 
insomuch  that  it  may  be  traced  in  all  their  works.  In 
process  of  time,  many  eminent  Platonists  became 
Christians.  Justin  Martyr  was  a  devoted  disciple  of 
Plato.  Alexandria,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the 
birth-place  of  the  Christian  Trinity,  was  the  head-quar- 
ters of  Platonism  ;  and  the  early  Trinitarian  fathers  were 


THE    DIVINE    NATURE.  51 

all  Platonists,  and  were  therefore  Trinitarians  before 
they  became  Christians.  These  fathers,  having  been 
much  and  long  in  the  schools  of  philosophy,  could  not 
come  to  Jesus  with  the  simplicity  of  little  children.  They 
were  unwilling  to  be  disciples  of  Christ  alone.  They 
quoted  Plato  and  Jesus  Christ  in  the  same  breath,  be- 
lieved in  both  with  equally  unhesitating  assurance,  in- 
corporated the  Platonic  Trinity  into  their  religious 
creed,  remodelled  the  Christian  system  in  the  Platonic 
mould,  and  then  complimented  the  memory  of  Plato 
on  his  having  anticipated  the  essential  doctrines  of  the 
gospel.  That  this  statement  is  not  exaggerated  will 
appear  from  the  fact,  that,  in  their  extant  writings,  the 
early  Trinitarian  fathers  always  quote  Plato  and  his 
followers,  as  freely  as  they  do  the  New  Testament, 
on  the  subject  of  the  Trinity.  St.  Augustine  expressly 
says,  that  he  was  in  the  dark  with  regard  to  the  Trinity, 
until  he  found  the  true  doctrine  concerning  the  divine 
Word  in  a  Latin  translation  of  some  Platonic  writings, 
which  the  providence  of  God  had  thrown  in  his  way. 
I  might,  had  I  time,  adduce  numerous  quotations  from 
the  Christian  fathers  to  the  same  effect. 

I  have  now  accomplished,  as  far  as  possible  within 
the  limits  of  a  single  lecture,  the  work  proposed. 
I  have  shown  you,  as  I  think,  that  the  Trinity 
is  not  a  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that  it  was  not  be- 
lieved or  taught  by  the  early  Christian  fathers,  and 
that  it  derived  its  technical  phraseology,  its  ideas  and 
its  ultimate  form,  from  the  Platonic  philosophy. 

One  word  in  conclusion.  If  the  view  which  I  have 
now  presented   be  just,  ours  is  no  new  doctrine,  but 


52  -  THE    DIVINE    NATURE. 

the  faith  first  delivered  to  the  saints.  What  we  be- 
lieve, was  the  creed  of  the  church  in  those  days,  when 
there  were  tongues  of  fire  and  hearts  all  zeal,  when 
the  word  was  quick  and  powerful,  when  the  disciples 
ofl^sred  their  all  upon  the  altar  of  their  faith,  and  mul- 
titudes of  such  as  should  be  saved  were  daily  added 
to  the  company  of  the  believers.  Why  may  not  the 
same  creed  bear  like  fruits  now,  and  among  us  ?  May 
it  not,  God  helping,  if  we  are  faithful  to  our  light  ? 
Let  us  not,  if  we  think  that  we  have  the  truth,  idly 
boast  of  our  superior  discernment  ;  for  it  only  makes 
our  negligence  and  sluggishness  the  more  blameworthy. 
Were  we  blind,  we  should  have  less  sin.  But  now 
that  we  say.  We  see,  our  sin  remains.  If  we  have 
the  light,  let  us  walk  as  children  of  the  light.  If  we 
deem  ourselves,  in  our  views  of  religious  doctrine, 
more  faithful  than  our  fellow  Christians  to  the  sublime 
declaration  of  Moses,  '  The  Lord  our  God  is  one 
Lord,'  let  us  be  no  less  faithful  to  the  commandment, 
which  he  annexes  to  that  declaration,  —  'Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might.' 


LECTURE   II. 


JESUS   CHRIST. 

JOHN  XIV.   28. 

MY  FATHER  IS  GREATER  THAN  I. 

The  question  of  the  supreme  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ  will  be  my  subject  this  evening.  I  shall 
reserve  for  the  next  lecture,  an  explicit  statement  of 
my  own  views  with  reference  to  our  Saviour's  person- 
al rank  and  character,  and  I  shall  now  confine  myself 
to  the  simple  question  :  Was  Jesus  of  J^azareth  iden- 
tical with  the  Almighty  Creator  9 

Before  entering  upon  my  subject,  suffer  me  to  make 
one  preliminary  remark.  There  are  two  modes  em- 
ployed in  proving  doctrines  from  the  Bible.  One  is 
the  quotation  of  single  texts,  without  reference  to  the 
context,  or  to  the  analogy  of  other  portions  of  Scrip- 
ture. The  other  is  based  upon  the  comparison  of  a 
text  with  its  context,  and  of  Scripture  with  Scripture  ; 
and  has  reference  rather  to  the  general  tone  and  spirit 
of  the  sacred  writings,  or  of  particular  books  and 
passages,  than  to  insulated  words  and  phrases.  The  lat- 
ter, I  hardly  need  say,  is  the  only  true  mode.  By  the 
5* 


54  JESUS    CHRIST. 

former,  any  and  every  doctrine  might  be  established  ; 
and  its  use  has,  in  fact,  led  to  most  of  the  broad  differ- 
ences among  Christians,  and  of  the  exceedingly  wide 
departures  from  '  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.'  No 
book  in  the  world  could  bear  such  rules  and  modes  of 
interpretation,  as  have  been  applied  to  the  Bible.  In 
all  books,  except  scientific  treatises,  free  use  is  made 
of  metaphor  and  hyperbole,  which  are  always  defined 
and  limited  by  what  goes  before  and  what  follows, 
but  which,  taken  by  themselves  and  explained  literally, 
would  imply  the  most  puerile  and  absurd  notions.  Now 
the  fashion  among  theologians  has  been,  to  set  up  the 
seeming  signification  of  some  three  or  four  isolated 
clauses  in  the  Bible,  as  overweighing  the  clear  and  ac- 
knowledged tenor  of  the  entire  Scriptures,  as  if  the  in- 
spired writers  could  have  failed  to  recognize  constantly, 
and  to  state  explicitly,  any  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
religion,  which  they  taught. 

I  can  best  illustrate  the  prevalent  mode  of  Scriptural 
interpretation,  by  supposing  a  case.  Suppose  that, 
fifteen  or  twenty  centuries  hence,  there  should  be 
remaining  some  two  or  three  authentic  biographies  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Suppose  that  in  one  of  these, 
written  by  an  admiring  Frenchman,  it  should  be  said  of 
him:  'He  was  a  very  God  among  his  soldiers, — adoring 
millions  prostrated  themselves  before  him, — he  took  in 
the  nations  of  the  earth  at  a  glance, — his  will  was 
omnipotent.'  Suppose  that  in  another  of  these  biogra- 
phies, written  by  a  bigoted  English  tory,  it  should  be 
said  of  him  :  '  He  was  a  very  fiend  incarnate, — the 
prince  of  darkness  never  let  loose   upon  earth  a  more 


JESUS     CHRIST.  55 

fearful  angel  of  destruction.'  Suppose  that,  though, 
elsewhere  throughout  these  books,  Napoleon  was  per- 
petually talked  of  as  a  man,  and  the  books,  taken  as 
a  whole,  made  utter  nonsense  upon  the  supposition  that 
he  was  not  a  man,  there  yet  should  arise  a  set  of  critics, 
who  maintained  that  Napoleon  was  a  divine  being,  and 
another  set,  who  maintained  that  he  was  a  demon, — 
these  two  classes  of  critics  would  aptly  represent  the 
generality  of  modern  theologians  and  biblical  inter- 
preters. 

The  true  mode  of  interpretation  obviously  is,  first, 
to  get  at  the  general  tone  and  spirit  of  the  book,  or 
books,  which  we  wish  to  interpret,  and  then,  when  we 
find  a  passage  of  difficult,  doubtful,  or  ambiguous 
signification,  to  seek  for  it  the  interpretation,  or  to 
give  it  that  one  of  several  possible  interpretations,  which 
best  accords  with  the  tone  and  spirit  of  the  whole. 
Thus,  if  the  entire  New  Testament  from  beginning  to 
end,  if  every  discourse  of  our  Saviour,  if  every  expo- 
sition of  Christian  doctrine  made  by  the  apostles,  if  the 
whole  tone  of  spiritual  phraseology,  declares,  or  neces- 
sarily implies,  the  inferiority  of  the  Son  to  the  Father, 
and  yet  there  are  some  half-dozen,  or  more,  single 
texts,  which  seem  to  teach  his  supreme  divinity,  but 
admit  of  a  different  interpretation,  I  contend,  that  we 
are  bound  to  interpret  these  texts  in  accordance  with 
the  voice  of  Scripture  taken  collectively  ;  and  I  also 
maintain  that,  w^here  there  is  any  reasonable  doubt  WMth 
regard  to  the  reading,  or  the  punctuation  of  a  passage, 
we  are  bound  to  prefer  that  reading,  or  that  mode  of 
punctuation,  which  best  accords  with  the  rest  of  the 
New  Testament. 


56  JESUS    CHRIST. 

But  let  me  not  be  misunderstood.  I  by  no  means 
say  that  half  a  doxen  texts,  or  even  a  single  text  of 
Scripture,  may  not  be  sufficient  to  establish  a  religious 
doctrine.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  subjects  spoken 
of  but  once  or  twice,  on  which  I  derive  as  definite  and 
firm  an  opinion,  from  one  or  two  texts,  as  I  should 
from  a  volume.  And  if  our  Saviour  were  named  but 
six  times,  or  but  once;  in  a  series  of  books  profl^ering 
the  claims  to  plenary  and  conclusive  authority,  which, 
in  my  view,  the  New  Testament  proffers,  and  if,  each 
of  those  six  times,  or  that  once,  he  were  spoken  of  as 
the  supreme  God,  I  should  then  believe  him  to  be  the 
supreme  God.  But  the  case  is  very  different.  He 
speaks  of  himself,  and  is  spoken  of,  many  hundred 
times,  in  the  New  Testament.  Take  away  some  half- 
dozen,  or,  at  most,  a  very  few  of  these  texts,  and  no 
one  will  contend  that  there  remains  a  single  case,  in 
which  the  phraseology  does  not  necessarily  imply 
inferiority  to  the  eternal  Father.  These  few  texts,  as 
I  interpret  them,  imply  no  other  doctrine.  But  yet 
my  Trinitarian  brethren  contend  that  they  teach  our 
Saviour's  supreme  divinity.  Admitting,  for  the  moment, 
that  such  were  their  most  obvious  meaning,  the  question 
is,  whether  they  ought  to  outweigh  the  hundreds  of 
texts  that  teach  a  different  doctrine.  Christ  cannot 
be  both  a  self-existent  and  a  created  being,  both  God 
and  the  Son  of  God,  both  equal  and  inferior  to  the 
Father.  And  if  he,  many  hundreds  of  times,  calls  him- 
self, and  is  called  by  his  authorized  interpreters,  a 
created  being,  the  Son  of  God,  and  inferior  to  the 
Father,  then  it  seems  to  me  that  the  few  texts,  which 
might  bear  a  different  meaning,  ought  to  be  interpreted 


JESUS    CHRIST.  57 

in  accordance  with  these  hundreds  of  texts.  With  this 
general  statement  of  facts  in  the  case,  I  presume  that 
no  Trinitarian  would  find  fault.  But  the  Trinitarian 
would  maintain  that  the  hundreds  of  texts  ought  to  be 
interpreted  by  the  few. 

These  things  premised,  I  now  proceed  to  exhibit 
the  chief  reasons,  why  I  find  myself  constrained  to 
regard  our  Saviour  as  a  created  and  subordinate  being. 

In  the  first  place,  our  Saviour  never  declares  himself 
the  supreme  God,  in  any  of  the  discourses  or  conver- 
sations recorded  in  the  gospels.  This  is  not  a  doctrine, 
for  which  it  is  common  to  appeal  to  our  Saviour's  own 
words  ;  and  yet,  often  as  he  spake  of  himself,  and  plain 
and  confidential  as  was  his  intercourse  with  his  disciples 
during  the  last  scenes  of  his  life,  it  hardly  seems  possi- 
ble that  he  should  have  left  them  without  a  hint  of  his 
true  nature  and  glory.  I  know  of  but  two  of  his  own 
sayings,  which  are  ever  quoted  as  referring  to  his 
supreme  divinity  ;  and  I  doubt  whether  these  would  be 
quoted  in  a  serious  argument.  One  of  these  is,  '  I  and 
my  Father  are  one,'  *  which  he  sufficiently  explains, 
when  he  afterwards  prays  for  his  disciples,  '  that  they 
may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one.'  f  The  other  is, 
'  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father,' J  which, 
in  the  next  verse,  he  explains  by  saying  :  '  Believest 
thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
me? '  I  am  astonished  that  this  should  ever  have  been 
regarded  as  a  Trinitarian  proof-text.  I  know  not  a 
more  decidedly  anti- Trinitarian  text  in  the  Bible. 
For,  if  there  be  three  distinct  persons  in  the  God- 
head,  seeing    one   of  them,  is   surely  not  seeing  the 

*  John  X.  30.  t  John  xvii.  2-2.  t  John  xiv.  9. 


58  JESUS     CHRIST. 

Other, — seeing  the  Father,  is  not  seeing  the  Son.  But 
if,  as  Unitarians  beheve,  Christ  dweh  in  God,  and  God 
in  him,  if  Christ  was  the  image,  the  representative  of 
the  Father,  then  he,  who  had  seen  him,  had  seen  the 
Father, — he,  who  had  been  conversant  with  the  image, 
had  become  acquainted  with  the  attributes  of  the 
original. 

If  our  Saviour  were  indeed  the  supreme  God,  a  fact, 
no  less  striking  and  unaccountable  than  his  own  silence 
on  the  subject,  is,  that  the  apostles  did  not  proclaim 
him  as  God  in  their  preaching  to  the  unbelieving  Jews 
and  Gentiles.  The  cross,  the  ignominy,  the  lowly 
and  suffering  estate  of  Jesus,  was  the  great  stumbling- 
block  to  those,  among  whom  they  preached  ;  and  it 
was,  therefore,  a  prime  object  with  them  to  extol  and 
exalt  him,  to  set  forth  his  claims  upon  the  reverence 
of  man,  and  to  exhibit  his  intrinsic  greatness  and  ex- 
cellence. Was  he,  who  was  despised  and  rejected  of 
men,  indeed  the  Lord  God  Almighty  ?  Of  this  fact, 
then,  before  all  things  else,  would  Peter  have  assured 
the  unbelieving  Jews,  and  Paul  the  inquisitive  and 
credulous  Athenians.  This  doctrine,  so  momentous, 
could  not  have  been  suppressed  in  preaching,  to  such 
a  degree,  as  not  once  to  find  its  way  into  the  numerous 
discourses  contained  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  If 
Peter  and  Paul  did  not  preach  it,  they  cannot  have  be- 
lieved it.  If  they  did  preach  it,  the  eminently  care- 
ful, faithful  historian,  St.  Luke,  could  not  have  omit- 
ted this  most  prominent  and  striking  point  in  their 
preaching. 

I  now  offer  you  a  consideration  of  very  great,  and, 
it  seems  to  me,  decisive  weight.     If  our  Saviour  were 


JESUS   CHRIST.  59 

the  almighty  Creator,  there  was  a  time  when  his  disci- 
ples first  became  aware  of  the  fact ;  for  they  could  not 
have  believed  it  from  the  beginning.  When  Peter  re- 
buked him,  when  they  all  forsook  him,  when  they  went 
weeping  to  his  sepulchre,  they  could  not  have  regarded 
him  as  God.  Now,  whenever  they  learned  the  fact  of 
his  supreme  divinity,  it  must  have  wrought  a  marvellous 
and  entire  change  in  their  feelings  and  conduct,  —  it 
must  have  created  the  most  strongly  marked  epoch  in 
the  experience  of  their  lives.  It  must  have  been  with 
the  utmost  awe,  with  emotions  of  overpowering  fulness, 
that  they  ascertained  that  the  Creator  of  all  worlds  had 
been  dwelling  with  them,  calling  them  his  brethren,  and 
submitting  to  their  petulant  and  inconstant  humors,  — 
had  broken  bread  for  them,  and  even  washed  their 
feet.  Must  not  such  a  stupendous  discovery  have 
left  some  trace  of  itself  in  the  sacred  record  ?  Could 
it  have  taken  place,  without  at  least  some  notice  of  the 
time  when,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
made  ^  Did  they  first  become  aware  of  this  fact  after 
his  resurrection  ?  How  then  can  we  account  for  their 
preserving  their  former  familiar,  fraternal  style  of  inter- 
course with  him  till  the  morning  of  the  ascension  ? 
And  yet  their  conversation  with  him  on  that  very  morn- 
ing, differs  not  in  the  least,  as  to  its  general  tone  and 
character,  from  those  which  they  had  held  with  him 
before  his  death.  Or  was  it  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
that  this  amazing  fact  first  became  known  to  them  ?  If 
so,  would  not  Peter's  discourse  have  been  full  of  this 
new  revelation  ?  Could  he  have  so  entirely  veiled  the 
light  that  had  just  burst  upon   him,  as   coolly  to   com- 


60  JESUS    CHRIST. 

mence  his  discourse :  '  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man 
approved  of  God  among  you,  by  miracles,  and  won- 
ders, and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him,'  and  to  utter 
not  a  single  word,  which  the  most  astute  critic  can 
torture  into  a  recognition  of  the  deity  of  Christ  ?  But 
it  is  impossible  for  the  Trinitarian  to  say  when  the 
apostles  were  first  apprized  of  this  truth  ;  nor  is  there, 
in  the  gospels  or  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  faintest 
trace  of  such  a  discovery's  having  been  made  at  any 
time.  Now  I  could  more  easily  account  for  the  omis- 
sion of  all  notice  of  our  Saviour's  birth,  or  death,  or 
resurrection,  or  ascension,  than  for  the  omission  of 
the  announcement  of  this,  —  the  most  amazing  and 
momentous  fact  of  all,  —  indeed,  the  most  interesting 
and  important  fact  in  the  world's  whole  history. 

I  next  remark,  that  the  whole  phraseology  of  the 
New  Testament,  with  regard  to  our  Saviour,  implies  his 
created  existence,  and  subordinate  rank.  In  the  first 
place,  he  is  constantly  called  the  Son  of  God.  The 
word  Son,  as  applied  to  him,  either  has,  or  has  not,  a 
meaning.  If  it  has  no  meaning,  then  must  it  have 
been  employed  by  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles  in  idle 
mockery  of  man's  understanding,  —  a  supposition  un- 
worthy to  be  entertained  for  a  moment,  and  yet  one, 
which  our  Trinitarian  brethren  cannot,  it  seems  to  me, 
entirely  disavow.  But  if  the  word  Son  does  mean 
anything,  the  least  that  it  can  imply  is,  that  the  Son 
owes  his  existence  to  the  Father,  therefore  is  not  self- 
existent,  did  not  then  exist  from  all  eternity,  and  con- 
sequently is  not  God. 

I  would  next  advert  to  the  mode,  in  which  our  Sa- 


JESUS    CHRIST.  61 

viour  uniformly  speaks  of  himself.  Here  are  some  of 
his  declarations,  which  I  might  multiply  indefinitely  : 
'  My  Father  is  greater  than  I.'*  'I  can  of  mine  own 
self  do  nothing.'!  '  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you, 
I  speak  not  of  myself;  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth 
in  me,  he  doeth  the  works. 'J  '  I  proceeded  forth  and 
came  from  God  ;  neither  came  I  of  myself,  but  he  sent 
me.'§  'My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me.'ll  'Of  that  day  and  that  hour  knoweth  no  man, 
no,  not  the  angels  which  are  in  Heaven,  neither  the 
Son,  but  the  Father. 'IF  '  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.'**  '  Why  callest 
thou  me  good  ?  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is 
God. 'If  ''  I  ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father, 
and  to  my  God  and  your  God.'Jt  But  I  might  go  on 
in  this  way,  and  quote  from  every  chapter  in  the  gos- 
pels, and  from  every  verse  in  which  our  Saviour  speaks, 
and  show  you  every  attribute  of  supreme  divinity  dis- 
claimed, over  and  over  again,  from  his  own  lips,  without 
your  being  able  to  point  to  a  single  instance,  in  which 
he  claims  for  himself  any  exclusively  divine  attribute. 
I  might,  also,  show  him  to  you  praying  to  his  Father, 
spending  whole  nights  in  supplication  to  Him,  beseech- 
ing Him,  if  possible,  to  take  from  him  the  cup  of 
death,  and  commending  his  departing  spirit  into  the 
Father's  hands. 

Is  it  said  that  Christ  spoke  and  did  thus  in  his  human 
nature  ^     To   this  I  reply,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 

*  John  xiv.  23.  t  John  v.  30.  t  John  xiv.  10. 

§  John  viii.  42.  ||  John.  iv.  34.  H  Mark  xiii.  32. 

**  John  iii,  16.  +t  Matt.  xix.  17.  tt  John  xx.  17. 

6 


62  JESUS    CHRIST. 

doctrine  of  the  two  natures  of  Christ  is  not  claimed 
even  by  its  advocates,  as  a  doctrine  of  revelation. 
They  quote  no  declaration,  or  passage  of  Scripture,  in 
which  they  profess  to  find  this  doctrine  expressed  or 
implied.  It  is  confessedly  a  hypothesis,  which  they 
have  assumed  as  the  only  mode,  in  which  they  can 
reconcile  Christ's  supreme  divinity  with  his  own  reite- 
rated assertions  to  the  contrary. 

But  this  hypothesis  of  the  two  natures  is  far  from 
obviating  the  difficulty,  which  it  was  designed  to  re- 
move. If  Christ  be  the  supreme  God,  and  if  it  be  of 
any  importance  for  mankind  to  know  the  fact,  it  was 
of  equal  importance  for  him  to  have  made  the  fact 
known,  nor  can  there  have  been  any  adequate  reason 
for  his  concealing  it.  Moreover,  those,  who  maintain 
the  doctrine  of  two  natures,  virtually  charge  our  Saviour 
with  equivocation.  For  does  not  the  word  /  include 
the  whole  of  the  person  speaking  }  I  myself  am  com- 
posed of  body  and  mind.  I  know  that  jive  and  five 
are  ten.  My  body  does  not  know  it  ;  but  my  mind 
knows  it.  Now  suppose  that  I  should  say,  '  I  do  not 
know  how  much  five  and  five  are,'  and  should  after- 
wards explain  myself  by  saying,  '  My  body  does  not 
know  it,  and,  when  I  spoke,  I  had  reference  to  my 
body,'  what  would  you  think  of  my  honesty,  or  good 
sense  ^  You  would  certainly  infer  that  I  had  made 
utter  shipwreck  of  one  or  the  other.  Or  suppose  that 
I  should  say,  '  I  am  unable  to  lift  this  manuscript,'  and 
when  you  looked  to  see  if  I  were  smitten  with  a  sud- 
den paralysis,  I  should  add,  '  I  only  mean  that  my 
mind  cannot  lift  it,  —  my  body  can,'   you  would  surely 


JESUS    CHRIST.  63 

regard  my  speech  as  anything  but  wise,  and  my  intel- 
lect as  anything  but  sane.  Yet  such  is  the  imputation, 
which  the  doctrine  of  the  two  natures  casts  upon  our 
Saviour  ;  and  his  exalted  mission,  and  the  momentous 
subjects  on  which  he  spoke,  only  render  the  imputation 
the  more  gross  and  unworthy.  If  our  Saviour  was  the 
supreme  God,  he  knew  the  day  and  hour,  which  he 
said  that  he  did  not  know,  —  he  had  himself  the  power 
to  perform  those  works,  which  he  said  that  he  could 
not  perform  of  himself,  —  he  was  the  equal  of  the 
Father,  whom  he  called  greater  than  himself;  and  there 
remains  no  way,  in  which  you  can  interpret  these  es- 
sentially false  declarations  from  his  hps,  without  casting 
reproach  upon  him,  in  whose  pure  and  transparent 
spirit  I  believe  that  there  was  no  guile.  I  press  this 
point  the  more  urgently,  because  to  my  eye  the  doc- 
trine of  our  Saviour's  supreme  divinity  renders  all  his 
recorded  discourses  a  tissue  of  prevarication,  fitted  only 
to  bewilder  and  mislead  his  hearers. 

The  hypothesis  of  the  two  natures  also  fails,  inas- 
much as  Christ  expressly  disclaims  the  peculiar  attributes 
of  deity  in  some  of  those  relations  and  offices,  which 
it  is  contended  that  he  fills  by  virtue  of  his  divine  na- 
ture. I  know  not  how  often  I  have  seen  and  heard  the 
number,  variety,  and  magnitude  of  his  miracles,  and  his 
sovereign  sway  over  diseases  and  the  elements,  cited  as 
demonstrative  proof  of  his  supreme  divinity.  But  it  is 
of  these  very  miracles  that  he  says  :  '  The  works  that 
1  do,  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the  Father  hath  sent  me.'* 

*  John  V.  36. 


64  JESUS    CHRIST. 

It  is  often  said  also,  that  none  but  God  can  be  the  final 
judge  of  man  ;  and  Christ's  designated  office  as  judge 
of  the  living  and  the  dead  is  referred  to  in  every  de- 
fence of  the  Trinity,  as  proof  positive  of  his  supreme 
divinity.  But  of  this  office  he  says,  '  The  Father  hath 
committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son  ; '  and,  a  few 
sentences  afterwards,  assigns  not  his  deity,  nor  even 
his  close  connection  with  the  Father,  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  his  relationship  to  man,  as  the  reason  why  he  is 
appointed  man's  judge  :  '  He  hath  given  him  author- 
ity to  execute  judgment  also,  because  he  is  the  Son 
of  man.'* 

We  have  then  our  Saviour's  uniform  and  often  re- 
peated testimony  to  his  own  created  existence  and 
subordinate  rank,  in  maintaining  which  we  cannot  surely 
be  guilty  of  denying  the  Lord  Jesus,  inasmuch  as  we 
fasten  our  faith  upon  his  own  words. 

Do  we  look  to  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament  ?  We 
still  find  our  Saviour  spoken  of  as  a  created  and  subor- 
dinate being.  'Him  hath  God  ordained,' — 'Him 
hath  God  raised  up,' — '  Him  hath  God  set  forth,'  —  is 
the  burden  of  the  apostolic  preaching.  How  many 
times  do  the  aposdes  designate  the  Almighty  as  the 
the  God,  or  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ! 
Says  St.  Paul  :  '  There  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus.'  f  And 
again:  '  Ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's. 'J  Says 
St.  John:  '  God  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation    for   our  sins  ;  '    and   again,   in   the  same 

*  John  V.  22,  27.  t  1  Tim.  ii.  5.  t  1  Cor.  iii.  23, 


JESUS    CHRIST.  65 

chapter:  '  The  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.'*  The  apostles  speak  also  of  Christ,  in 
his  glorified  state,  as  making  intercession  for  his  church. 
'  Who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us.'f  '  If  any  man 
sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ 
the  righteous.'!  If  Christ  be  God,  to  whom  does  he 
pray  ? 

The  apostles  speak  of  Christ  as  subordinate  to  the 
Father,  even  in  those  passages,  in  which  they  ascribe 
to  him  the  highest  exaltation  and  glory,  nay,  in  the  very 
passages,  which  are  currently  quoted  in  proof  of  his 
supreme  divinity  on  the  alleged  ground,  that  such  honor 
can  be  rendered  to  no  created  being.  Take  this  pas- 
sage for  instance  :  '  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth, 
and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Lord,  to  the  Glory  of  God  the  Father. '§  God  hath 
exalted  him, —  God  hath  given  him  a  name,  —  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father;  —  how  could  his  derived 
and  subordinate  nature  have  been  more  strongly  ex- 
pressed ? 

There  is  a  passage  in  one  of  St.  Paul's  epistles  to 
the  Corinthians,  where  the  extent  and  universality  of 
Christ's  reign  are  spoken  of  in  more  ample  and  lofty 
terms  than  anywhere  else  in  the  New  Testament  ;  but, 
as  if  to  preclude  the  inference  of  his  independent  and 
supreme  divinity,  the  apostle  adds  :   '  When  all  things 

*  1  John  iv.  10,  14.  t  Rom.  viii.  34. 

t  1  John  ii.  1.  §  Phil.  ii.  9-11. 

6* 


66  JESUS    CHRIST. 

shall  be  subdued  unto  him,  then  shall  the  Son  also  him* 
self  be  subject  unto  him  that  put  all  things  under  him, 
that  God  may  be  all  in  all.'* 

I  might  also  quote  that  passage  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  where  God  is  represented  as  saying  to  Christ, 
in  language  borrowed  from  the  Old  Testament,  (in 
which  a  more  free  use  is  made  of  the  word  God,  than 
in  the  New,)  '  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and 
ever ; '  but  it  is  added,  '  God,  even  thy  God,  hath 
anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fel- 
lows,'!—  ^  passage,  which  suggests  the  inquiry,  —  if 
Christ  was  the  supreme  God,  who  was  his  God,  who 
were  his  fellows,  and  who  anointed  him  ?  And  through- 
out the  introduction  of  this  epistle,  in  which  it  seems 
the  writer's  sole  object  to  heap  the  praises  of  a  pious 
and  grateful  heart  upon  the  glorified  Redeemer,  we 
have  multiplied  recognitions  of  his  subordinate  rank 
with  reference  to  the  Father.  '  Whom  he  hath  ap- 
pointed heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also  he  made  the 
worlds. 'I  '  It  became  him,  for  whom  are  all  things, 
and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto 
glory,  to  make  the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  sufferings  ;  for  both  he  that  sanctifieth,  and 
they  that  are  sanctified,  are  all  of  one  :  for  which  cause 
he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren  ;  saying,  I  will 
declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren  :  in  the  midst  of 
the  church  will  I  sing-  praise  unto  thee.  And  again: 
/  will  put  my  trust  in  him.  And  again:  Behold,  I,  and 
the  children  which  God  hath  given  me 

*  1  Cor.  XV.  24-23.  t  Heb.  i.  8,  9.  1:  Heb.  i.  2. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  67 

In  all  thinscs  it  behoved  him  to  be  made  like  unto  his 

brethren In  that  he  himself  hath  suffered, 

being  tempted^  he  is  able  to  succor  them  that  are  tempt- 
ed.'* Now  all  these  things  may  be  said  of  the  most 
highly  exalted  of  God's  children  ;  but  surely  not  of 
God  himself.  Men  are  not  God's  brethren.  God 
cannot  sing  praise  to  himself.  God  cannot  be  tempt- 
ed ;  nor  can  he  have  been  made  perfect  through  suffer- 
ing. 

In  the  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  where  it  is  said  of 
Christ,  that  '  by  him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in 
heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,'  and  that  'he  is  before 
all  things,'  he  is  in  the  same  sentence  styled,  not  the 
Uncreated,  but  '  the  first-born  of  every  creature,'  there- 
fore not  self-existent,  and  consequently  not  God.f 

In  the  Apocalypse,  where  the  highest  titles  and  hon- 
ors are  given  to  our  Saviour,  and  where  the  rapt  apos- 
tle sees  the  ransomed  hosts  casting  down  their  crowns 
before  him,  he  is  still  represented  as  a  created  being. 
Though  he  styles  himself  '  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first 
and  the  last,'|  he  still  indicates  that  these  expressions 
denote  not  the  uncreated  source  of  being,  but  the  first- 
born Son  ;  for  he  afterwards  calls  himself  '  the  begin- 
ning of  the  creation  of  Goc?.'§  And  again,  while  the 
redeemed  are  represented  as  assigning  for  the  reason  of 
their  praise  to  the  Father  :  '  Thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were  crea- 
ted ;  'II  to  the  Son  their  words  are:  '  Thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of 

*  Heb.  ii.  10-18.  t  Col.  i.  15  -  17.  tRev.  i.  11. 

§  Rev.  iii.  14.  11  Rev.  ir.  11. 


68  JESUS    CHRIST. 

every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation,  and 
hast  made  us  unto  our  God,  kings  and  priests,'*  —  an 
ascription,  of  which  every  candid  mind  must  see  at 
once  that  the  supreme  God  cannot  be  the  subject. 

I  next  remark,  that  Christ  did  not  present  himself  as 
an  object  of  adoration,  and  that  he  commanded  his  dis- 
ciples to  offer  prayer,  not  to  himself,  but  to  his  Father. 
I  know  not  what  could  be  more  explicit  than  the  follow- 
ing passage,  where,  speaking  of  the  time  when  he  should 
no  longer  be  with  his  disciples,  he  says  to  them  :  '  In 
that  day  ye  shall  ask  me  nothing.  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  my 
name,  he  will  give  it  you.'f 

In  accordance  with  these  words  of  their  Master,  all 
the  recorded  prayers  of  the  apostles  are  directed  to 
God,  generally  through  Christ,  or  in  his  name  ;  nor  do 
they,  in  a  single  instance,  exhort  their  converts  to  pray 
or  to  give  thanks  to  Jesus,  but  to  God  the  Father,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  only  case,  I 
believe,  in  which  authority  for  prayer  to  Christ  is  drawn 
from  the  New  Testament,  is  that  of  the  dying  Stephen, 
when  he  said,  '  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit. '|  But 
this  was  not  prayer.  This  was  not  an  address  to  an 
invisible  being.  It  was  speaking  to  one  whom  he  saw. 
The  heavens  were  opened,  and  he  saw  '  Jesus  standing 
on  the  right  hand  of  God.'  He  had  a  vision  of  the 
risen  Saviour,  with  a  countenance  and  gesture  of  wel- 
come for  his  dying  servant.  He  thus  commended  his 
spirit  to  one,  who  had  personally  appeared,  to  lead  him 
through  the  dark  valley  to  the  mansion  of  eternal  rest. 

*  Rev.  V.  9,  10.  t  John  xvi.  23.  t  Acts  vii.  59. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  69 

One  word  more  concerning  ibis  text.  In  our  com- 
mon Bible,  it  reads:  '  Tbey  stoned  Stepben,  calling 
upon  God^  and  saying,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.' 
But  you  will  see  tbat  tbe  w^ord  God  is  printed  in  italics. 
In  tbis  type  are  printed  tbose  words  in  tbe  translation, 
whicb  bave  no  corresponding  w^ords  in  tbe  original,  but 
wbicb  tbe  translators  saw  fit  to  supply.  Tbere  are 
many,  I  suppose,  who  do  not  know  wbat  tbe  italics  in 
tbe  Bible  mean  ;  and  tbe  explanation  of  tbem  ougbt  to 
be  printed  in  every  copy.  Tbis  text,  omitting  tbe 
word  inserted  by  tbe  translators,  would  read  :  '  Tbey 
stoned  Stepben,  calling  upon,  or  invoking,  (of  course 
tbe  person  last  named,  and  tbat  is  Jesus,)  and  saying, 
Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.'  Tbere  is  anotber  in- 
stance, in  wbicb  our  translators  bave  inserted  tbe  same 
word  God.  ]t  is  tbis  :  '  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love 
of  God,  because  be  laid  down  bis  bfe  for  us.'*  Tbe 
words  of  God,  are  in  italics,  and  bave  nothing  corres- 
ponding to  tbem  in  tbe  original,  which,  literally  render- 
ed, reads:  '  Hereby  perceive  we  love,  because  he  laid 
down  bis  life  for  us.' 

But,  to  return  from  tbis  digression,  tbere  is  not,  in  tbe 
New  Testament,  a  single  instance  of  prayer  to  Jesus, 
nor  is  tbere  a  single  case,  in  which  homage  is  paid  to 
him  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  paid  to  God.  There  are 
indeed  many  ascriptions  of  praise  to  him  ;  but  tbey  are 
always  accompanied  with  the  specific  designation  of  bis 
work  and  office  as  Mediator,  and  generally  with  an  ex- 
press reference  to  tbe  eternal  Father  as  alone  supreme. 

*  1  John  iii.  16. 


70  JtSUS    CHRIST. 

But  there  are  several  instances,  in  which  persons  are 
said  to  have  worshipped  Jesus.  The  v^ord  translated 
worship^  however,  does  not  necessarily  denote  the  ren- 
dering of  divine  honors,  but  simply  prostration,  or  other 
external  marks  of  homage  or  reverence,  such  as  are 
paid  by  inferiors  to  superiors,  by  subjects  to  princes, 
and  by  servants  to  masters.  For  instance,  the  servant 
in  the  parable,  who  owed  a  thousand  talents,  fell  down 
at  his  master's  feet,  '  and  worshipped  him,  saying, 
Lord,  have  patience  with  me,  and  I  will  pay  thee  all.'* 
Indeed,  most  of  these  cases  of  worship  or  prostration 
before  our  Saviour,  were  cases  of  suppliants  asking 
favors  of  him,  at  a  time  when,  it  is  generally  contended 
by  Trinitarians,  our  Saviour's  supreme  divinity  had  not 
yet  been  made  known. 

Such  is  the  state  of  facts  with  reference  to  the  re- 
cognition of  our  Saviour's  supreme  divinity  by  the 
apostles,  in  appropriate  acts  of  devotion.  Now,  that 
neither  prayer  nor  divine  honors  should  have  been  ren- 
dered to  our  Saviour  by  his  apostles  seems  to  me  en- 
tirely unaccountable,  if  he  were  properly  the  subject  of 
them.  It  is  equally  unaccountable,  that,  if  they  had 
been  rendered,  no  instance  of  the  kind  should  have  re- 
mained on  record  in  the  New  Testament.  And  still 
more  strange  is  it,  that,  if  Jesus  be  the  supreme  God, 
he  himself  should  not  only  have  omitted  to  enjoin,  but 
should  have  expressly  forbidden  prayer  to  himself,  and 
should  have  prescribed  a  mode  of  prayer,  in  which  he 
was  indeed  to  be  recognized  as  the  Mediator,  but  not 
as  the  object  of  prayer. 

*  Matthew  xviii.  26.  .    ^ 


JESUS    CHRIST.  71 

I  will  now  ask  your  attention  to  some  ol  the  single 
texts  urged  by  those  who  maintain  the  supreme  deity  of 
Christ.  I  do  not  intend,  (for  I  have  not  time,)  to  bring 
forward  all  the  proof-texts  that  have  been  urged  or  re- 
lied upon.  But  I  shall  choose  those,  which  seem  to 
me  the  strongest,  and  those,  on  which  eminent  Trinita- 
rians have  laid  the  most  stress.  I  shall  purposely  omit 
only  those,  on  which  no  independent  reliance  is  placed, 
but  which  are  brought  forward  as  subsidiary  to  the  argu- 
ment based  upon  the  others.  And  let  me  add,  that, 
should  I  omit  in  this  lecture  the  consideration  of  texts, 
which  any  of  you  desire  to  hear  discussed,  if  you  will 
name  such  texts  to  me,  they  shall  be  taken  up  in  the 
next  lecture. 

Those,  who  maintain  the  supreme  divinity  of  our 
Saviour,  rest  for  this  doctrine,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
solely  on  single  texts.  They  draw  no  argument  from 
the  general  tone  and  spirit  of  the  New  Testament. 
They  admit  that  the  argument  from  this  source,  so  far 
as  it  has  any  bearing,  goes  against  them.  But  they 
deem  it  overborne  by  the  clearness  and  weight  of  the 
single  texts,  which  they  quote  in  behalf  of  their  dogma. 

Of  these  texts,  1  set  aside,  as  having  no  bearing  on 
the  doctrine  in  question,  those,  which  simply  teach  our 
Saviour's  continued  presence  with  his  church,  and  his 
power  over  the  spiritual  creation  of  God  ;  for  these  are 
truths,  of  which  I  entertain  not  the  slightest  doubt  ; 
they  imply  no  more  than  a  headship  over  the  church, 
conferred  by  the  Father,  and  are  but  the  fulfilment  of 
those  words  of  our  Saviour:  '  All  power  is  given  unto 


72  JESUS    CHllIST. 

me  in  heaven  and  in  earth. '"^  Is  given,  —  given  then 
by  the  Being,  to  whom  it  of  right  belonged,  and  who 
is  as  competent  to  constitute  the  ascended  Redeemer, 
head  of  the  whole  spiritual  family  above  and  below,  as 
to  make  you  and  me  fathers  and  heads  of  our  own 
little  households.  Nor  need  we  here  consider  those 
texts,  which  imply,  or  seem  to  imply,  our  Saviour's 
preexistence  ;  for  the  question,  whether  he  existed  be- 
fore his  birth  in  Bethlehem,  is  entirely  independent  of 
that  of  his  supreme  divinity. 

The  only  text  from  the  Old  Testament,  much  relied 
on  by  the  advocates  of  the  doctrine  in  question,  is  this 
from  Isaiah  :  '  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son 
is  given  :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder  : 
and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor, 
the  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of 
Peace.'!  I"  this  text,  the  Hebrew  word  rendered 
God,  is  not  Elohim,  the  word  commonly  so  rendered  ; 
but  El,  of  which  God  is  only  a  secondary  meaning. 
The  Hebrew  Lexicons  give  for  its  meaning,  first,  (as 
an  adjective,)  strong,  mighty  ;  secondly,  (as  an  abstract 
noun,)  strength,  power ;  and  thirdly  and  often,  (by  a 
natural  transfer  from  an  abstract  to  a  concrete  sense,) 
God.  Our  translators  chose  the  last  of  the  three 
meanings.  I  am  disposed  to  think  the  first  the  true 
signification  here,  and  should  render  the  passage  :  '  He 
shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  Strong,  Mighty, 
Father  of  eternity,  that  is,  Author  of  eternal  life,  (or, 
perhaps.  Father  or  Author  of  an  age,  —  a  new  age  or 
dispensation,)  Prince  of  Peace.' 

*  Matt,  xxvii.  18.  t  Isaiah  ix.  6. 


JESUS  CHRIST. 


73 


Another  text  much  relied  on  is  from  the  epistle  to 
the  Phllippians  :  '  Let  this  mind  be  in  you,  which  was 
also  in  Christ  Jesus,  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;  but  made 
himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form 
of  a  servant.'*  The  true  sense  of  this  passage,  ac- 
cording to  many  Trinitarian  commentators,  is  this  : 
'  Let  the  same  mind  be  in  you,  which  was  also  in 
Christ  Jesus,  who,  though  in  the  form,  the  image  of 
God,  yet  did  not  covet  to  appear  as  God,  that  is,  did 
not  exalt  or  magnify  himself ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
humbled  himself,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a 
servant.'  But,  however  this  passage  may  be  inter- 
preted, any  possible  inference  from  it  in  favor  of  the 
supreme  divinity  of  Christ  is  negatived  by  the  sequel 
of  the  sentence,  in  which  the  apostle  says  that,  on 
account  of  his  thus  humbling  himself,  '  God  has 
highly  exalted  him,  and  has  given  him  a  name  above 
every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  .  ...  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father. "^ 

Another  important  text  is  this  from  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans  :  '  Whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of  whom, 
as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ  came,  who  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  forever.  Amen.'f  The  New  Testa- 
ment, like  all  books  of  that  age,  was  originally  written 
without  stops,  and  without  division  of  sentences. 
The  stops  have  been  inserted,  and  the  sentences 
divided  in  comparatively  recent  times.     I  suppose,  in 


*  Philippians  ii.  5-7.  t  Romans  ix.  5. 

7 


74  JESUS    CHRIST. 

common  with  many  very  eminent  biblical  critics, 
that,  in  this  passage,  there  should  be  a  full  stop  after 
the  words,  over  all ;  and  that  the  words,  '  God  be 
blessed  forever,  —  Amen,'  were  added  as  a  doxology 
by  the  apostle,  in  the  way,  in  which,  in  several  in- 
stances, he  has  inserted  a  doxology  In  the  midst  of  a 
paragraph. 

The  exclamation  of  Thomas,  when  he  recognized 
his  risen  Master,  '  J\Iy  Lord  and  my  God,^*  is  quoted 
as  a  proof-text  for  the  doctrine  under  discussion, 
though  I  am  surprised  that  it  should  be.  It  was 
a  mere  exclamation  of  glad  astonishment  on  the 
part  of  Thomas.  It  was  not  addressed  to  Christ  ; 
for  it  is  not  in  the  vocative  case,  which  is  used  in  the 
Greek  when  a  person  is  spoken  to.  The  words  Lord 
and  God  are  both  in  the  nominative  case.  The  sen- 
tence is  elliptical  ;  and,  were  we  to  supply  the  ellipsis, 
it  would,  as  I  suppose,  read  thus  :  'It  is  my  Lord 
and  my  God,  that  has  brought  this  glorious  event  to 
pass.'  But  it  was  an  abrupt,  fragmentary  exclamation, 
such  as  would  naturally  spring  from  overwhelming  sur- 
prise,—  not  profane,  because  uttered  in  deep  solemnity 
and  awe,  and  in  clear  recognition  of  the  divine  hand, 
which  had  raised  his  Master  from  the  dead.  It  was 
the  most  natural  of  all  exclamations  under  the  circum- 
stances in  which  it  was  uttered.  Suppose  that  some 
one,  whom  we  knew  to  have  been  long  dead,  should 
stand  forth  here  in  the  presence  of  us  all,  would  not 
the    exclamation,    JWy  Gody  be   the  solemn,   fervent, 

*  John  XX.  28, 


JESUS     CHRIST.  75 

heart-Stricken  utterance  of  every  one  present  ?  That 
any  argument  should  ever  have  been  based  upon  this 
exclamation  seems  to  me  excessively  strange,  when  I 
consider  the  whole  connection  in  which  it  stands. 
Thomas  had,  a  moment  before,  expressed  his  entire 
unbelief  as  to  the  identity  of  his  Master.  Jesus  then 
shewed  him  his  wounds,  to  convince  him  of  his  iden- 
tity. This  was  all  that  he  undertook  to  prove  to 
Thomas,  and  all  that  the  wounds  could  prove.  Now, 
if  Thomas  had  ever  believed  Christ  to  be  God,  he 
would  never  have  doubted  his  power  to  rise  from  the 
dead.  His  skepticism  with  regard  to  the  resurrection, 
proves  that  he  had  not  previously  believed  that  Christ 
was  God.  But  Christ's  resurrection  no  more  proved 
him  to  be  God,  than  the  rising  of  Lazarus  proved  him 
to  be  God.  Thomas  had  therefore  had  no  proof  of  his 
Master's  supreme  divinity  presented  to  his  mind  ;  and 
one,  so  slow  to  believe  as  he  was,  could  hardly  have 
leaped  to  so  momentous  a  conclusion,  without  some- 
thing on  which  to  base  it. 

The  next  passage,  to  which  I  shall  refer,  is  this  from 
the  first  epistle  to  Timothy  :  '  Without  controversy, 
great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness  :  God  was  manifest 
in  the  fleshy  justijied  in  the  spirit^  seen  of  angels^ 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles^  believed  on  in  the  worlds 
received  into  glory.''*  There  is  much  discrepancy 
with  regard  to  the  reading  of  this  passage  among  the 
early  manuscripts  and  versions  ;  but,  to  my  mind,  the 
balance  of  argument  is   in  favor   of  the  common  read- 

*  1  Timothy  iii.  16. 


76  JESUS    CHRIST. 

ing,  and  the  text  conveys  to  my  apprehension,  nothing, 
which  I  do  not  gladly  believe  and  embrace.  Nay,  I 
would  adopt  the  passage  as  embodying  my  confession 
of  faith  with  regard  to  Jesus  Christ.  I  joyfully  and 
thankfully  acknowledge,  that,  in  the  person,  in  the 
moral  attributes,  in  the  unquenchable  love  of  Jesus, 
God  icas  manifest  in  the  fleshy  —  that  he  was  justified^ 
that  is,  had  false  notions  and  sentiments  concerning 
himself  uprooted,  and  true  ideas  and  feelings  implanted 
among  men,  through  the  workings  of  his  spirit^  —  that 
angels  beheld  with  adoration  this  display  of  divine  wis- 
dom and  love,  —  that  God  thus  manifested  was  pro- 
claimed to  the  Gentiles^ —  believed  on  in  the  world,  — 
received  in  glory,  (for  such  is  the  literal  rendering  of 
the  words,)  that  is,  gloriously  received  and  welcomed 
in  the  hearts  of  Christ's  true  disciples. 

In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  St.  Paul  bids  the 
Ephesian  elders  to  '  feed  the  church  of  God,  which 
he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.''^  Lord  occurs 
here  instead  of  God  in  many  of  the  earlier  manu- 
scripts and  versions,  and  is  deemed  the  true  reading 
by  the  best  critics.  But  I  will  take  the  text  as  it 
stands,  and  will  seek  no  advantage  from  the  difference 
of  reading.  Now,  were  it  the  general  voice  of  the 
New  Testament  that  the  supreme  God  suffered,  and 
died,  and  shed  his  blood  upon  the  cross,  I  should 
certainly  interpret  this  text  as  referring  to  his  death. 
But,  the  contrary  being  the  voice  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, if  I  admit  the  common   reading  of  this  passage, 

*  Acts  XX.  28. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  77 

I  must  interpret  it  in  accordance  with  what  I  know 
St.  Paul  to  have  believed  and  taught.  Now  St.  Paul 
uniformly  taught  that  '  God  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all  ;  '  and  I  must,  there- 
fore, suppose  bloody  in  the  passage  under  discussion, 
to  denote  Son,  as  it  does,  in  common  with  the  word 
flesh,  in  all  languages,  both  ancient  and  modern.  '  He 
hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood,^  that  is,  with  his 
own  Son. 

I  now  ask  your  attention,  for  a  few  moments,  to 
the  introduction  of  St.  John's  gospel.  In  order  to 
understand  this,  we  must  look  at  the  purpose  for  which 
St.  .Tohn  wrote  his  gospel.  On  this  subject,  we  are 
fortunate  in  having,  among  others,  a  competent  and 
unimpeachable  witness  in  Irenaeus,  —  a  friend  and 
pupil  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  personal  friend  of  St. 
John.  It  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  antiquity,  that 
St.  John  wrote  his  gospel  after  the  other  three,  and  at 
Ephesus, —  the  head-quarters  of  the  Gnostic  heresy, 
which  was  the  first  wide  departure  from  the  simplicity 
of  the  Christian  faith  ;  and  Irenaeus  says,  that  the  be- 
loved disciple  wrote  his  gospel  for  the  express  purpose 
of  refuting  the  false  and  absurd  notions,  which  the 
Gnostics  were  beginning  to  spread  in  Asia  Minor.  It 
concerns  us  then  to  know^  what  the  Gnostics  believed. 
They  engrafted  upon  the  Christian  faith  a  hybrid  phi- 
losophy, or  to  speak  more  correctly,  they  engrafted 
some  few  Christian  phrases  and  ideas  upon  a  hybrid 
philosophy,  in  which  Platonism  was  blended  with  the 
oriental  mysticism.     They  maintained  that  the  supreme 

God    dwelt   in    the    remote    heavens,    surrounded    by 

7* 


78  JESUS    CHRIST. 

chosen  spirits,  JEons^  (as  they  called  them,)  and  gave 
himself  very  little  concern  with  what  took  place  upon 
earth  ;  that  the  world  was  created  by  an  inferior  and 
imperfect  being,  who  was  also  the  author  of  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation  ;  that  Christ  was  sent  by  the  supreme 
God  to  deliver  men  from  the  tyranny  of  this  creator, 
and  from  the  yoke  of  his  law  ;  that  there  were  also 
various  created  spirits,  or  »^ons,  sustaining  different 
offices,  independently  for  the  most  part  of  the  supreme 
Deity,  the  names  of  some  of  which  JEiOns  were  Life^ 
Lights  and  particularly,  the  Logos  or  Word,  which 
represented  the  divine  Reason  or  Wisdom ;  and  that 
the  *BEon  Light  became  incarnate  in  John  the  Baptist. 
All  these  spiritual  existences  were  represented  as  dis- 
tinct from  each  other,  and  from  the  supreme  God,  so 
that  the  system  was  a  sublimated  form  of  polytheism. 
To  fuse  these  disjointed  fragments  of  deity  into  one, 
— rto  rebuke  these  babblings  of  philosophy,  falsely  so 
called,  about  a  divided  sceptre  and  a  scattered  divin- 
ity, —  this  was  the  purpose  of  St.  John's  introduction. 
And  not  only  so  ;  but  we  find  that  the  same  pervading 
purpose  gives  shape,  and  character,  and,  as  it  were, 
the  key-note,  to  his  whole  gospel.  With  this  object 
in  view,  it  was  incumbent  on  him  to  show  that  Life, 
and  Light,  and  the  Logos  or  Word,  were  not  distinct 
from  the  supreme  God  ;  that  the  supreme  God 
created  the  world,  and  gave  the  Jewish  law  ;  that  the 
same  God  sent  John,  the  forerunner ;  and  that  the 
same  God  sent  Jesus  Christ,  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
complete  the  law, — not  to  deliver  men  from  its 
tyranny,  but  to  finish  for  them  the  work,  which  the 


JESUS    CHRIST.  79 

law  had  begun.  All  this  is  shown  in  the  first  eighteen 
verses  of  the  gospel,  —  how  comprehensively  and 
beautifully  you  will  see,  if  you  keep  in  mind  what  I 
have  told  you  of  the  Gnostic  notions,  while  I  read  the 
passage  to  you,  with  such  explanations  as  may  be  re- 
quisite. 

In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  the  Logos,  the 
divine  Reason  or  Wisdom, —  not  a  created  being,  nor 
yet  an  emanation  from  the  Supreme  ;  but  it  always 
existed, — the  Word  was  loith  God,  and  never  had 
a  separate  existence  ;  ajid  the  Word  was  God,  was 
and  is  inseparable  from  his  essence  and  his  attributes. 
The  same  Word,  the  same  divine  Wisdom,  repeats 
the  evangelist,  was  in  the  beginning  ivith  God.  And 
now  Si.  John  directs  his  attention  to  another  of  the 
Gnostic  errors,  namely,  that  of  the  w^orld's  having  been 
created  by  an  inferior  divinity.  All  things,  says  St. 
John,  icere  made  by  him,  that  is,  by  God,  (not  by 
the  Word,  —  him  refers  to  God,  which  is  the  nearest 
preceding  noun  to  which  it  can  refer.)  All  things  were 
made  by  the  supreme  God,  and  without  him  was  not 
anything  made  that  was  made.  In  him  also  was  Life  ; 
and  the  Life  was  the  Light  of  men.  Life  and  Light 
are  not  distinct  existences  ;  but  God  is  the  source  of 
life,  and,  where  it  flows  from  him,  light  flows  with  it. 
Jlnd  the  Light  shines  in  darkness;  but  the  darkness 
comprehended  it  not.  God  has  shed  light  upon  men 
in  the  darkest  times,  though  men  have  chosen  darkness 
rather  than  light. 

There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  ichose  name  was 
John.     He  came  for  a  witness,  to  bear  testimony  of  the 


80  JESUS    CHRIST. 

light,  concerning  the  divine  light,  that  all  men  through 
him  might  believe.  He  was  not  that  light,  not  himself 
an  jEon,  a  spiritual  emanation, —  he  was  a  man,  like 
other  men  ;  but  loas  sent  to  bear  witness  of  the  Light. 
He,  from  whom  he  came,  God,  xoas  the  true  Light  that 
enlightens  every  man  that  comes  into  the  loorld.  God 
had  not  removed  himself  from  his  creation,  had  not 
dwelt  apart  in  the  remote  heavens.  He  was  already, 
he  was  always  in  the  world,  and  the  world  had  been 
made  by  him;  yet  the  world  knew  him  not.  He  had 
come  to  his  own,  to  the  Jewish  nation,  his  favored  and 
covenant  people  ;  but  his  own  received  him  not,  that  is, 
as  a  nation,  they  had  in  general  disowned  and  rejected 
him  in  heart  and  deed,  though  not  in  name.  But  to  as 
many  as  received  him,  to  the  patriarchs  and  to  the  faith- 
ful among  their  posterity,  to  them  who  believed  on  his 
name,  he  gave  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  his 
own  spiritual  children,  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  (children  not 
in  any  human  or  earthly  sense,)  but  of  God, 

And,    in   these  latter    days,    the    Word,   the   divine 

Wisdom,  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  men  ;  and  we, 

I  and  my  fellow-apostles,  beheld  its  glory,  —  the  glory 

of  the  only  begotten,  of  the  chosen  Son,  of  the  Father, 

full  of  mercy  and  of  truth. 

John  bore  testimony  concerning  him,  and  cried,  say- 
ing. This  is  he,  of  whom,  I  said.  He  that  cometh  after 
me,  has  taken  precedence  of  me ;  for  he  was  before 
me, — was  my  superior.  Jlnd  of  his  fulness,  of  the 
rich  truth  and  mercy  of  the  Word  made  flesh,  have  we 
all  received;  yet  not,  as  false  teachers  now  say,  mercy 


JESUS    CHRIST.  81 

instead  of  wralh,  a  silken  instead  of  an  iron  yoke,  but 
grace  for  grace ^ — one  gracious  dispensation  to  super- 
sede another.  For  the  law  icas  given  through  JVIoses^ 
and  that  was  a  law  of  mercy,  adapted  to  its  own  times  ; 
but  now  mercy  and  truth  for  all  times  have  come  through 
Jesus  Christ.  J\^o  man  has  seen  God  at  any  time  ; 
the  only  begotten  Son^  who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  he  has  declared  him, — has  made  him  known. 

Thus  wesee  that  the  introduction  of  John's  gospel, 
so  far  from  authorizing  the  breaking  up  of  the  divine 
nature  into  a  plurality  of  persons,  is  a  noble  assertion 
and  vindication  of  the  divine  unity,  well  worthy  the  pen 
of  inspiration, — a  passage,  in  which,  as  with  a  prophet's 
wand,  he  waves  back  to  their  native  nothingness  the 
chimeras  of  an  arrogant  and  impious  philosophy. 

But  I  have  spoken  long  enough,  perhaps  too  long. 
I  have  shown  you,  as  I  trust,  that  the  general  tenor  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  numberless  express  declara- 
tions of  our  Saviour  and  his  apostles,  oblige  us  to  regard 
him,  though  second  only  to  the  Father,  as  holding  with 
reference  to  the  Father,  a  derived  existence  and  a 
subordinate  rank.  I  have  heaped  up  an  amount  of 
testimony,  which  much  more  than  convinces  me, — 
which  leaves  my  ovvn  mind,  I  can  truly  say,  without 
the  shadow  of  a  doubt, — with  a  conviction,  which  has 
no  room  to  grow  stronger.  I  have  also,  I  think, 
selected  all  the  really  strong  and  difficult  texts  alleged 
in  proof  of  the  opposite  doctrine.  Some  of  them,  I 
confess,  would  have  weight,  were  they  not  overborne 
by  such  an  overwhelming  amount  of  testimony  on  the 
other  side.     But  not  one  of  them  requires,  and  some 


82  JESUS    CHRIST. 

of  thsm  do  not  in   my  view  admit,  the   interpretation, 
which  favors  the  supreme  divinity  of  Christ. 

I  now  commend  the  subject  to  your  own  serious 
reflection  and  study.  But,  while  you  seek  and  prize 
just  ideas  of  your  Saviour's  rank  and  character,  re- 
member that  your  truest  knowledge  of  him,  is  heart- 
knowledge, — that  knowledge,  which  you  can  have  only 
by  being  Hke  him, — by  following  him, — by  having 
'  Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of  glory.' 


LECTURE   III. 


JESUS   CHRIST. 

MATTHEW  XXII.  42. 

WHAT  THINK  YE  OF  CHRIST? 

My  two  previous  lectures  have  been  devoted  to  the 
defence  of  the  divine  unity,  in  opposition  to  the  un- 
scriptural  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  supreme 
deity  of  Christ.  The  present  lecture  will  be  devoted 
to  the  explanation  of  my  own  views  of  the  nature 
AND  CHARACTER  OF  Christ,  with  this  reservation, 
that  I  shall  omit  all  considerations  bearing  directly 
upon  the  atonement,  which  I  shall  make  the  subject  of 
two  distinct  lectures  at  the  close  of  the  course. 

In  the  first  place,  I  pretend  not  that  the  difference 
between  our  Trinitarian  brethren  and  ourselves,  as  to 
the  person  of  our  Saviour,  is  a  slight  one.  I  regard  it 
indeed  as  not  fundamental  ;  for  we  all  alike  look  to 
God  as  the  author  of  our  pardon  and  our  eternal  life, 
— they  supposing  that  God  brought  these  blessings 
into  the  w^orld  in  his  own  person, — we,  that  he  bestowed 
them  through  the  hand  of  a  Mediator.  But,  however 
high  the  personal  rank  which  we  assign  to  our  Saviour, 


84  JESUS    CHRIST. 

there  is  an  infinite  distance  between  God  and  the 
loftiest  of  created  and  finite  beings  ;  and  our  Saviour, 
if  created  and  finite,  was  a  son  of  God,  and  a  brother 
of  man, — titles,  which  he  assumes,  and  uses  freely  with 
regard  to  himself,  but  which  he  could  not  have  em- 
ployed, had  he  been  the  supreme  God. 

But  while  I  deny  the  personal  deity  of  Christ,  I 
most  firmly  believe  in  his  divinity^ — in  a  divinity, 
created  by  a  constant  and  full  indwelling  and  inworking 
of  the  Father  in  the  Son.  He  was,  in  the  highest 
possible  degree,  the  sanctified,  the  empowered,  the 
sent,  the  vicegerent,  the  representative  of  God. 

The    Scriptures    place    him    before    us    under  two 
leading  aspects,    (which  resolve  themselves  into  one,) 
as  the  perfect  image  of  God,  and  the  perfect  pattern  of 
human  virtue. 

First,  as  the  perfect  image  of  God.  This  is  indi- 
cated in  many  passages  of  Scripture,  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  following  :  '  Being  the  brightness  of  God's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person.'  *  In  him  dwell- 
eth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.'  f  '  He  that 
hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father.' J  '  The  Word 
was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.'  §  In  the  intro- 
duction of  St.  John's  gospel,  from  which  this  last  text 
is  quoted,  we  have,  it  seems  to  me,  the  whole  theory 
of  our  Saviour's  relation  to  God.  There  we  are  told, 
that  the  Word,  the  divine  Reason  or  Wisdom, — the 
same  divine  attributes,  which  had  been  manifested  in 
creation   and  in  the   whole    course   of  providence, — 

*  Hebrews  i.  3,  t  Colossians  ii.  9. 

t  John  xiv.  9,  §  John  i,  14. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  85 

assumed  a  human  form,  and  dwelt  among  men  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  We  are  also  told  in  the 
same  connection,  why  this  manifestation  of  the  Deity 
took  place.  '  God  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world 
was  made  by  him,  and  the  world  knew  him  not.'  His 
power  and  his  love  were  enshrined  in  all  the  forms,  and 
uttered  themselves  in  all  the  voices  of  outward  nature, 
— the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  full  of  them  ;  but 
they  were  diffused  over  too  wide  a  surface,  for  man 
anywhere  to  take  in  a  clear  and  satisfying  view  of  them. 
Man  saw  the  rays  of  divinity  ;  but  could  not  trace  them 
to  their  source.  The  attributes  of  God  were  in  the 
universe,  as  we  may  suppose  light  to  have  been  before 
the  sun  was  made,  spread  everywhere,  but  concentrated 
nowhere.  But,  as  God  placed  in  the  centre  of  our 
system  a  vast  urn,  to  which  men  should  look  as  the 
prime  source  of  light,  and  brought  together  there,  and 
caused  to  stream  from  thence,  the  rays,  which  before 
had  mingled,  and  crossed  each  other  from  every  point 
of  the  horizon, — so,  in  the  moral  firmament,  did  he 
kindle  Jesus  as  the  sun  of  righteousness,  and  combined 
and  concentrated  in  his  person  rays  of  divinity,  which, 
though  shed  all  over  creation,  had  never  been  brought 
together  on  earth  before.  We  see  in  Jesus  as  much 
of  God  as  can  be  made  manifest  in  a  created  being, — 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  the  flesh, — the  outermost 
limit  of  the  finite, — the  nearest  approach  to  the  infinite. 
But  here  there  is  an  obvious  distinction  to  be  made 
between  God's  physical  and  his  moral  attributes.  By 
the  physical,  we  denote  poicer  and  wisdom,  to  which 
alone  the  word  infinite  can  be  applied  with  precision. 
8 


86  JESUS    CHRIST. 

These,  of  course,  cannot  belong  in  their  entire  fulness 
to  any  subordinate  being  ;  for,  if  any  being  possessed 
them,  the  possession  of  them  would  make  him  God. 
Our  Saviour  expressly  disclaims  them,  when  he  says, 
'  I  can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing,'  and  when  he 
speaks  of  himself  as  ignorant  of  the  day  and  hour, 
which  the  Father  knew.  The  highest  possible  power 
and  wisdom  of  a  created  being  must  needs  be  finite, 
and  must  therefore  fall  infinitely  short  of  those  attri- 
butes as  they  exist  in  God.  Yet  of  these  attributes, 
of  the  divine  omnipotence  and  omniscience,  our 
^^aviqur  bore  the  express  image.  He  wrought  the 
works,  and  uttered  the  words  of  God.  He  took  the 
things  of  God,  and  shewed  them  to  men.  His  mira- 
cles manifested  divine  power  in  every  department  of 
nature.  The  sea  obeyed  him  ;  and  the  winds  were 
still  at  his  voice.  Water  blushed  to  wine  ;  and  bread 
in  the  desert  grew  beneath  his  touch.  He  poured  light 
upon  the  sightless  balls,  and  the  tide  of  health  through 
the  palsied  limbs.  The  lame  leaped  in  gladness  before 
him  ;  and  the  dumb  broke  forth  in  hosannas  to  the  Son 
of  David.  He  raised  the  dying  from  the  death-bed, — 
the  dead  from  the  bier  and  the  tomb.  He  thus  laid 
bare  the  arm  of  omnipotence, — revealed  the  hidings  of 
divine  power, — wrought,  without  any  intermediate  agen- 
cy, such  works  as,  through  second  causes,  through  the 
connrion  processes  of  nature,  are  wrought  at  all  times 
by  the  Almighty.  By  these  marvellous  works,  Christ 
represents  to  our  hearts,  and  brings  home  to  our  faith, 
the  divine  omnipotence.  His  miracles  gave  us  a  con- 
sciousness of  repose  on  an  Almighty  arm.     When  we 


JESUS    CHRIST.  87 

contemplate  what  he  wrought,  we  feel  more  than  ever 
that  the  universe  is  not  its  own,  but  our  Father's, — 
that  its  giant  forces  are  balanced  and  governed  by  him, 
who  numbers  the  very  hairs  of  our  heads.  These 
mighty  works  rebuke  our  despondency,  and  give  us  a 
calm  trust  in  that  Providence,  which  does  all  things 
well. 

Christ  also  comes  to  us  as  the  image  of  the  divine 
omniscience.  He  brings  to  us,  from  the  infinite  treasury 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  all  that  we  need  to  know. 
He  gives  us  assurance  under  the  seal  of  God,  wherever 
we  might  remain  in  doubt.  He  speaks  with  author- 
ity,— declares  to  us  what  he  has  seen  with  God, — brings 
us  revelations  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father.  His 
teachings  are  not  inferences  from  trains  of  argument ; 
but  portions  of  absolute,  eternal  truth, — transcripts  from 
the  infinite  mind. 

With  regard  to  the  moral  attributes  of  God,  his  jus- 
tice, holiness,  and  love,  perfection,  not  infinity,  is  the 
word,  which  characterizes  them  ;  and,  in  these  attri- 
butes, a  finite  being  may  be  perfect  even  as  God  is  per- 
fect ;  that  is,  may,  in  his  entire  sphere  of  knowledge, 
power,  and  duty,  manifest,  without  deviating  from  them, 
the  same  attributes,  which  God  manifests  throughout 
the  universe, — may  be,  in  his  limited  range  and  capac- 
ity, no  less  good,  just,  and  holy,  than  God  is.  But  we 
are  acquainted  with  no  perfect  child  of  God,  except 
our  Saviour.  Of  him  alone  is  the  testimony  borne  : 
*  He  did  no  sin.'  He  '  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled.' 
He  '  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin.'     He  alone,  of  all  that  have  dwelt  upon 


88  JESUS    CHKIST. 

earth,  could  say  with  literal  and  unexaggerated  truth, 
'  Father,  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do.'  We  feel,  as  we  read  the  gospel,  that  we  are 
communing  with  spotless  and  divine  perfection.  We 
see  there  a  virtue,  beyond  which  no  dreams  of  perfec- 
tion can  reach, — a  transparent  purity,  in  which  the 
carping  infidel  can  detect  no  shadow  of  dimness, — a 
love  unlimited  and  inexhaustible.  And,  when  we  hear 
him  say,  '  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father,' 
we  rejoice  to  know  that  the  amiable  and  inviting  traits, 
which  temper  the  majesty  of  the  Saviour's  character, 
belong  to  the  Father  that  sent  him.  When  we  view 
the  Father  through  the  Son,  we  ascribe  to  him  with 
confidence  all  the  most  tender  and  attractive  forms  of 
love,  with  which  we  are  conversant,  such  as  meekness 
and  forbearance,  pity  and  compassion,  tender  watch- 
fulness and  care  over  the  minutest  objects  and  concerns. 
The  life  of  Jesus,  considered  as  the  image  of  God, 
gives  a  new  and  heart-reaching  emphasis  to  the  declara- 
tions of  holy  writ :  '  As  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so 
the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him  ;  for  he  knoweth  our 
frame  ;  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust  ;' — '  A  father 
of  the  fatherless,  and  a  judge  of  the  widows,  is  God  in 
his  holy  habitation  ;' — '  He  provideth  for  the  raven  his 
food, — his  young  cry  unto  God.' 

There  is  nothing  mystical  in  the  aspect  of  our 
Saviour's  character,  which  I  have  now  presented.  It 
only  supposes  that,  which  takes  place  partially  in  every 
good  man,  to  have  taken  place  in  Jesus  to  an  unlimited 
and  perfect  degree.  God  manifests  himself  in  every 
wise  and  holy  man.     Whenever  we  do  God's  will,  he 


JESUS     CHRIST.  89 

dwells  and  works  in  us.  But  that  spirit,  which  in  us  is 
shed  abroad  so  imperfectly,  and  is  so  often  quenched  by- 
doubt,  folly,  and  sin,  was  on  Jestis  shed  without  mea- 
sure, pervaded  every  faculty  of  his  soul,  prompted  his 
every  word  and  deed,  in  fine,  constituted  his  only  prin- 
ciple of  life  and  of  energy.  Indeed,  all  moral  goodness 
is  the  same  in  kind, — it  differs  only  in  degree. 

This  leads  me  next  to  speak  of  Jesus  as  the  perfect 
pattern  for  man  in  all  the  duties  of  a  creature  and  a  fel- 
low-creature,— of  a  child  and  a  brother.  He  bears  the 
divine  image,  that  we  may  bear  it  also, — that  we, 
beholding  with  open  countenance  the  glory  of  God  in 
the  face  of  Jesus,  may  be  changed  into  the  same 
image, — that,  in  St.  Peter's  language,  we  may  '  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature,'  and,  in  St.  Paul's,  may 
'  be  followers  of  God  as  dear  children.'  Through  the 
imitation  of  Jesus,  is  one  and  the  same  moral  image  to 
be  reflected  by  all  true  children  of  God.  They  are  to 
purify  themselves  as  he  is  pure.  When  he  shall 
appear,  they  are  to  be  like  him  ;  and  thus,  in  every  dis- 
ciple, are  the  words  of  his  prayer  to  be  fulfilled  :  '  The 
glory  which  thou  gavest  me,  I  have  given  them,  that 
they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one,  I  in  them,  and 
thou  in  me.' 

I  have  thus  presented  our  Saviour  under  the  two 
prominent  aspects,  in  which,  it  seems  to  me,  the  Scrip- 
tures present  him,  as  God's  image  and  man's  exemplar. 
In  these  aspects,  I  am  accustomed  to  think  of  him  as 
abiding  still  and  forever,  to  his  disciples.  As  on  earth, 
so  now  in  heaven,  do  the  ransomed  hosts  behold  him  as 
'  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  ;'  and  there,  as 
8* 


90  JESUS    CHRIST. 

here,  is  it  their  privilege  to  '  follow  the  Lamb  whitherso- 
ever he  goeth.'  The  New  Testament  always  speaks  of 
the  life  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  as  in  close  personal 
connection  with  Jesus.  He  appears  to  the  dying  Ste- 
phen, and  receives  his  ascending  spirit.  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  his  'desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ.' 
St.  John  says  of  those,  '  which  came  out  of  great  trib- 
ulation,' that  '  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living 
fountains  of  waters.'  Finite  spirits,  even  through  a 
boundless  eternity,  can  never,  '  by  searching  find  out 
the  Almighty  unto  perfection  ;'  and  the  idea  seems  to 
me  consonant  with  both  reason  and  Scripture,  and  meets 
with  a  grateful  response  from  the  heart  that  truly  loves 
Jesus,  that  he  will  through  eternity  be  our  guide  to  the 
more  perfect  knowledge  of  God,  and  our  forerunner  in 
every  path  of  duty. 

Meanwhile,  our  Saviour  is  represented  as  standing 
in  the  most  intimate  relation  to  his  disciples  yet  on 
earth.  His  promise  is  :  '  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them  ;  '*  — '  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world,  'f  God  '  gave  him,  '  says  St. 
Paul,  '  to  be  the  head  over  all  things  to  the  church.  '| 
These  and  similar  passages  of  Scripture  seem  to  indi- 
cate, that  he  is  invisibly  present  with  his  church,  and 
wields  a  delegated  sovereignty  over  God's  spiritual 
kingdom  upon  earth,  in  fine,  that  he  stands  in  the  same 
relation  to  the  household  of  faith,  in  which  the  father  of 

*  Matt,  xviii.  20.         t  Matt,  xxviii.  20.         t  Ephesians  i.  22. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  91 

a  family  stands  to  his  children,  watching  for  their  good, 
dispensing  God's  gifts  to  their  necessities,  their  helper 
in  every  good  work,  the  inspirer  of  holy  thoughts,  and 
of  inward  peace  and  joy. 

Jesus  is  also  spoken  of  as  our  intercessor  with  the 
Father.  Says  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  :  '  He  is  able 
to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by 
him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them.'*  '  If  any  man  sin,'  says  St.  John,  *  we  have 
an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  right- 
eous.'! This  intercession  of  Christ  we  regard  with 
unfeigned  and  devout  gratitude,  not  that  we  suppose  it 
needed  to  render  God  propitious,  but  because  it  pre- 
sents so  vivid  and  touching  an  image  of  the  Saviour's 
love  for  man. 

Jesus  is  also  spoken  of  as  man's  final  judge ;  and 
the  tribunal,  before  which  we  must  all  appear,  is  de- 
signated as  '  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ. 'J  '  The 
Father  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son. 
The  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all 
that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth  ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resur- 
rection of  life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  damnation. '§  This  idea  naturally  con- 
nects itself  with  that  of  the  intimate  relation  of  Jesus 
to  his  church  on  earth,  and  to  the  assembly  of  the 
redeemed  in  heaven.  The  soul  passes  from  the 
agony  of  death  into  his  presence  ;  and  that  very  in- 
terview is  in  itself  a  judgment  and   a   sentence.      The 

*  Hebrews  vii.  25.  t  1  John  ii.  1. 

t  2  Corinthians  v.  10.  §  John  v.  22,  28,  29. 


92  JESUS    CHRIST. 

soul,  that  is  of  his  lineage  and  kindred,  sees  its  own 
cherished  traits  of  character  reflected  from  his  coun- 
tenance, and  reads  in  his  eye  the  invitation,  '  Come, 
thou  blessed  of  my  Father.'  On  the  other  hand,  the 
impenitent,  the  willingly  guilty,  from  a  countenance 
with  which  they  have  no  sympathy,  from  a  glance 
which  reflects  not  theirs,  receive  the  sad  mandate, 
'  Depart,  ye  cursed.'  Like  or  unlike  him^  is  the  great 
question  of  the  final  judgment.  This  question,  the 
ranks  of  spirits,  as  they  go  from  earth  to  the  Saviour's 
immediate  presence,  answer  ;  and,  as  they  answer  it, 
join  his  heavenly  flock,  or  go  away  into  the  company 
of  outcast  and  rebel  spirits. 

I  would  next  refer  to  the  idea  entertained  by  many, 
that  our  Saviour  was  God's  agent  in  the  creation  of  the 
visible  universe.  Of  this  1  find  no  scriptural  proof. 
Indeed,  the  passages  commonly  quoted  in  support  of 
this  opinion,  appear  to  me  to  have  reference  to  some- 
thing more  precious  and  more  enduring  than  the  ma- 
terial universe, —  to  God's  spiritual  creation  and  king- 
dom. The  idea  under  discussion  rests  mainly  on  two 
passages.  One  is  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews : 
'By  whom  also  he  made  the  worlds.'*  The  word 
here  rendered  worlds^  has  for  its  primary  meaning 
ages  or  dispensations.  It  is  the  word  rendered  ages  in 
the  following  passage  :  '  The  mystery  which  hath 
been  hid  from  ages^  and  from  generations.'!  I  suppose 
that,  in  the  passage  under  consideration,  it  means 
ages,   namely,   the  successive  ages  of  the  church,  or 

*  Hebrews  i.  2.  t  Colossians  i.  26, 


JESUS    CHRIST.  93 

the  different  religious  dispensations,  patriarchal,  Leviti- 
cal  and  prophetical,  which  had  preceded  the  advent 
of  Christ.  This  exposition  gives  a  peculiar  force  and 
beauty  to  the  opening  verses  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  '  God,  who,  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners,  spake  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath 
in  these  latter  days  spoken  unto  us  through  his  Son, 
whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  on  whose 
account  he  indeed  made  or  arranged  the  earlier  dispen- 
sations just  referred  to,  making  them  all  point  onward 
to  him,  in  all  of  them  foreshadowing  his  coming  and 
preparing  the  way.' 

The  other  passage,  in  which  it  has  been  held  that 
Christ  is  distinctly  set  forth  as  the  Creator  of  the  uni- 
verse, is  this  :  '  For  by,  or  through  him  were  all  things 
created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible 
and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions, 
or  principalities,  or  powers,  all  things  were  created  by 
him  and  for  him  ;  and  he  is  before  them  all,  and  they 
are  all  bound  together  through  him.'*  This  passage  I 
understand  as  assigning  to  our  Saviour  much  loftier 
functions,  than  the  creation  of  a  perishing  universe. 
The  all  things  referred  to  are  the  thrones^  principali- 
ties^ and  powers,  the  ranks  and  distinctions  in  the 
spiritual  universe,  whether  seen  or  unseen,  whether 
apostles,  pastors,  and  teachers,  among  dying  men,  or 
those,  who  occupy  high  places,  nearest  the  throne, 
first  in  song,  among  the  hosts  of  heaven.  Their  digni- 
ties,  their  thrones,   and   powers,   are  his  creation,  his 

*  Colossians  i.  16,  17. 


94  JESUS     CHRIST. 

gift.  He  ordains  shepherds  after  his  own  heart  on 
earth.  He  assigns  to  each  his  place,  his  sphere,  in 
heaven.  He  is  before  them  all,  their  prince,  their 
head  ;  and  through  him  are  they  all  bound  together  as 
one,  —  through  him  are  they  all,  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,  made  one  family.  With  this  exposition  the  verse 
next  following  fitly  harmonizes.  '  And  he  is  the  head 
of  the  body,  the  church.'  This  place,  as  prince  and 
head  of  God's  spiritual  kingdom,  the  Scriptures  with 
one  voice  concede  to  him  ;  and  we  gratefully  reecho 
the  ascription  of  those  in  heaven,  who  cry,  '  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and 
blessing.' 

We  arrive  now  at  the  important  inquiry,  —  who,  as 
to  his  person,  was  this  wonderful  being,  in  whom  God 
thus  enshrined  and  manifested  himself,  and  who  is  now 
raised  to  the  head  of  the  spiritual  universe  ?  With 
regard  to  the  person  of  Jesus,  Unitarians  are  divided 
in  sentiment.  They  are  often  accused  of  representing 
him  as  a  mere  man  ;  but  falsely.  Those,  who  bear  the 
name  of  Humanitarians,  do  not  believe  him  to  have 
been  a  man  like  other  men  ;  for,  if  he  had  no  separate 
existence  before  his  birth  in  Bethlehem,  still  the  mirac- 
ulous circumstances  attending  his  birth,  his  intimate 
connection  with  the  Deity,  his  vast  endowments,  his 
exalted  mission,  raised  him  far  above  all  others,  who 
have  ever  borne  the  human  form.  His  apostles  cannot 
at  any  time  have  regarded  him  as  a  mere  man.  They 
knew  of  his  miraculous  birth,  of  the  vision  of  angels  to 
the  shepherds,  of  his  preternatural  wisdom  in  childhood, 


JESUS    CHRIST.  05 

and  of  the  voice  from  heaven  at  his  baptism.  They 
evidently  never  supposed  him  the  supreme  God.  They 
always  looked  upon  him  as  a  fellow  creature  ;  but  yet 
they  manifestly  regarded  him  as  a  superior  being,  and 
as  one,  of  whom  they  could  not  have  been  surprised 
to  learn,  that  he  had  existed  before  he  came  into  this 
world. 

Believing,  as  I  do,  in  our  Saviour's  preexistence,  I 
now  ask  your  attention  to  some  of  the  leading  scriptural 
proofs,  upon  which  this  doctrine  rests.  I  will  first 
quote  these  words  of  our  Saviour :  '  No  man  hath 
ascended  up  to  heaven,  but  he  that  came  down  from 
heaven.'^*  Is  it  said,  that  coming  down  from  heaven^ 
simply  implies  a  divine  commission  ?  Why  then  did 
not  John  the  Baptist,  who  certainly  had  a  commission 
no  less  from  God  than  that  of  Jesus,  speak  of  himself 
as  coming  down  from  heaven  ?  But  he,  in  this  same 
chapter,  expressly  speaks  of  Christ  as  coming  from 
heaven,  in  a  sense  in  which  he  himself  did  not  come  from 
heaven,  and  of  himself  as  being  of  the  earth,  in  a  sense 
in  which  Christ  was  not  of  the  earth.  '  He  must 
increase,'  says  the  Baptist,  '  but  I  must  decrease.  He 
that  Cometh  from  above  is  above  all :  he  that  is  of  the 
earth  is  earthly,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth  :  he  that 
Cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all.'  ' 

Again,  Jesus  says  of  himself,  '  What  and  if  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before  9  'f 
When  he  uttered  these  words,  he  had  just  before  called 
himself  '  the  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,'  by 

*Johniii.  13.  t  John  vi.  62. 


96  JESUS    CHRIST. 

which  his  Jewish  hearers  had  understood  him  as  assert- 
ing his  preexistence  ;  for  they  immediately  said  among 
themselves  :  '  Is  not  this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph, 
whose  father  and  mother  we  know  ?  How  is  it  then 
that  he  saith,  I  came  down  from  heaven  ?  '  It  is  in  the 
conversation  induced  hy  these  cavils,  that  Jesus  asks, 
'  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up 
where  he  was  before  ? ' 

I  next  cite  the  words  of  Jesus,  '  Before  Abraham 
was^  I  a?n.^  *  Those,  who  deny  our  Saviour's  pre- 
existence, regard  these  words  as  elliptical,  and  supply 
a  second  nominative  after  the  verb  «w, — '  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am  '  he, — I  am  the  Christ,  the  Mes- 
siah, that  is,  I  was  marked  out  by  a  divine  decree  for 
the  office  of  the  Messiah,  long  before  Abraham's  birth. 
That,  in  several  instances  in  the  New  Testament,  he 
must  necessarily  be  supplied  after  /  am,  in  order  to 
complete  the  sentence,  I  freely  admit.  But  in  every 
one  of  these  cases,  (unless  this  constitute  an  exception,) 
the  Son  of  man,  or  the  Christ,  or  some  synonymous 
word,  or  phrase,  can  be  supplied  from  what  immediately 
precedes.  There  is  such  an  instance  in  this  same  chapter. 
'  When  ye  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  then  shall 
ye  know  that  I  am,'  the  he  being  necessarily  supplied 
to  complete  the  sentence,  and  referring  to  the  Son  of 
man,  (a  title  of  the  Messiah  doubtless  well  known 
among  the  Jews,)  immediately  preceding.  But  in  the 
text  under  discussion,  if  we  supply  the  pronoun  Ac, 
there  is  nothing  which  precedes,  to  which  the  pronoun 

*  John  viii.  58. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  97 

can  refer,  no  name  or  title  of  Jesus  having  been  em- 
ployed for  more  than  twenty  of  the  next  preceding 
verses.  I  feel  fully  convinced,  therefore,  that  there  is 
no  competent  critical  ground  for  translating  this  sentence, 
'  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am  /ic'  But,  even  were  we 
to  deem  this  translation  admissible  on  critical  grounds, 
it  makes  our  Saviour's  words  utterly  unmeaning ;  and 
they  might  have  been  used  by  any  other  person,  as  well 
as  by  him.  Peter,  having  existed  from  all  eternity  in 
the  foreknowledge  and  determination  of  God,  might 
have  said,  '  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am  Peter,'  with 
just  as  much  truth  and  significance,  as  Jesus  could 
have  said,  '  Before  Abraham  was,  I  am  the  Christ.' 
Moreover,  these  words  of  Jesus  are  in  answer  to  the 
question:  '  Thou  art  not  yet  fifty  years  old,  and  hast 
thou  seen  Abraham?'  The  answer  ought,  according 
to  every  reasonable  principle  of  interpretation,  to  be 
understood  as  having  some  bearing  upon  the  question. 

I  next  quote  the  following,  from  our  Saviour's  prayer 
with  his  disciples  :  '  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou 
me  with  thine  own  self,  ivith  the  glory  which  I  had 
with  thee  before  the  world  icas.^  And  again,  '  Thoic 
lovedst  me  before  the  foundation  of  the  ivorld.'^  *  It 
requires  bold  and  rash  criticism  to  make  this  glory 
before  the  world  teas,  a  glory  in  the  depths  of  divine 
counsels  ;  and  are  we  not  borrowing  from  the  scholastic 
absurdities  of  the  middle  ages,  when  we  speak  of  God's 
love  in  anticipation  for  a  nonexistent  being, -r-of  his 
love  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  for  a  being,  who 

*  John  xvii.  5,  24. 


98  JESUS    CHRIST. 

was  not  to  see  the  light  of  life,  till  the  world  was  four 
thousand  years  old  ?  I  know  not  how  to  evade  the 
conclusion,  that  these  passages  denote  our  Saviour's 
preexistence. 

I  will  now  adduce  one  or  two  passages  from  St. 
Paul.  In  his  discourse  on  the  resurrection,  speaking 
of  Christ,  he  says,  '  The  second  man  is  the  Lord  from 
heaven.^  *  Here  the  whole  argument  is  based  on  the 
heavenly  origin  and  the  superhuman  character  of 
Jesus. 

St.  Paul  again  says  :  '  Ye  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that,  though  he  was  7'ichy  yet  for 
your  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye  through  his  poverty 
might  be  rich.'  The  most  obvious,  and,  to  my  mind, 
the  only  satisfying  sense  of  these  words  is,  that  Jesus, 
for  man's  salvation,  passed  from  a  richer  into  a  poorer, 
from  a  more  lofty  into  a  more  humble  condition. 

These  are  some  of  the  leading  texts,  which  support 
the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour's  preexistence.  There  is 
something  also  in  the  general  turn  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment phraseology,  with  reference  to  him,  for  which  I 
cannot  account  on  any  other  ground.  I  refer  to  the 
numerous  passages,  in  which  his  advent  is  spoken  of. 
Most  of  them,  literally  interpreted,  would  imply  either 
his  own  antecedent  personal  agency,  in  connection  with 
his  advent,  or,  at  least,  his  changing  one  state  of  being 
for  another,  rather  than  his  beginning  to  exist.  Such 
a  passage  is  the  following  :  '  He  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  (literally,   emptied  himself ,  as  if  of  what  he 

*  1  Corinthians  xv.  47. 


JESUS    CHCTST.  ,  99 

had  previously  possessed  or  enjoyed,)  and  took  upon 
him  the  hkeness  of  men  ;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as 
a  man,  he  humbled  himself.'*  To  this  class  of  texts, 
belongs  also  the  following,  from  the  epistle  to  the 
Galatians  :  '  When  the  fulness  of  the  time  was  come, 
God  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of  a  woman.'  f 

Some  of  the  titles  most  usually  given  to  our  Saviour, 
seem  to  designate  a  personal  rank  superior  to  that  of 
man,  and  according  well  with  the  idea  of  his  preexis- 
tence.  The  title.  Son  of  God^  implies,  indeed,  a 
created  and  subordinate  being  ;  and  all  men  are,  and 
are  called,  sons  of  God.  But  yet,  it  seems  to  be 
applied  to  our  Saviour  in  a  peculiar  and  exclusive 
sense,  often  with  the  distinguishing  epithets  only  and 
only-begotten. 

I  might  quote  many  other  passages  and  considerations 
in  confirmation  of  our  Saviour's  preexistence.  I  find 
many  indubitable  traces  of  it,  (particularly  in  the  gospel 
of  John,)  which  gain  distinctness,  the  more  closely  I 
view  them,  and  the  more  searchingly  I  apply  to  them 
the  canons  of  sound  criticism. 

Were  there  but  two  or  three  passages,  which  seemed 
to  teach  this  doctrine,  and  were  it  opposed  to  the 
general  tenor  of  the  New  Testament,  I  should  feel 
bound  to  interpret  these  few  passages  in  accordance 
with  the  analogy  of  other  Scriptures.  But  the  passages 
are  too  various  and  too  numerous  to  be  regarded  as 
merely  figurative  ;  and  the  doctrine,  which  they  imply, 
in  no  wise  militates  against  the  language  or  the  spirit  of 

*  Philippiaas  ii.  7,  8.  i  Galatians  iv.  4. 


100  *         JESUS    CHRIST. 

the  New  Testament  in  general.  Indeed,  there  are 
considerations,  which  seem  to  render  our  Saviour's 
preexistence  intrinsically  probable.  The  mission  which 
he  filled,  was  the  loftiest  that  a  created  being  could 
discharge ;  and  it  would  seem  reasonable,  and  natural, 
that,  for  so  high  a  function,  God  should  have  ordained 
one  of  the  elder,  and  more  exalted  members  of  his 
spiritual  family,  rather  than  one  from  the  human  race, 
— the  youngest  and  humblest  branch  of  that  family. 

Let  me  now  notice   briefly  the  principal  objections 
urged  against  this  doctrine. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  urged  that  Christ  is  not  unfre- 
quently  styled  a  man^  in  the  New  Testament.  We 
answer,  that  he  was  '  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,'  passed 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  man's  life,  bore  many  of 
man's  trials  and  infirmities,  in  fine,  was,  (whatever 
theory  we  adopt,)  a  man  in  very  many  of  his  circum- 
stances and  relations.  Moreover,  the  analogy  of  Scrip- 
ture gives  us  abundant  reason  to  believe,  that,  with  his 
preexistence  distinctly  in  view,  the  sacred  writers  would 
have  frequently  called  him  a  man,  when  they  contem- 
plated him  in  his  human  aspects,  relations,  and  fortunes. 
There  are  numerous  instances,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  in  which  superhuman  beings  are  called 
men.  Thus,  in  Genesis,  we  read  of  Abraham  :  '  The 
Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  the  plains  of  Mamre  :  and 
he  sat  in  the  tent-door  in  the  heat  of  the  day  ;  and  he 
lifted  up  his  eyes  and  looked,  and  lo,  three  men  stood 
by  him.'*     In  the  next  chapter,  we  are  told  of  two  of 

*  Genesis  xviii.  1,  2. 


JESUS    CHRIST. 


101 


these  men  :  '  There  came  two  angels  to  Sodom,'  and 
shortly  after,  of  the  same  two,  '  The  men  put  forth 
their  hand.'  When  the  birth  of  Samson  is  announced, 
we  first  read  that  '  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
unto  the  woman,' — then,  that  '  the  woman  came  and 
told  her  husband,  saying,  A  man  of  God  came  unto 
me,' — and  lastly,  that  '  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  (that  is, 
the  man  of  God  just  spoken  of,)  ascended  in  the  flame 
of  the  altar.'*  Luke,  in  describing  our  Lord's  resurrec- 
tion, says  that  '  two  men  stood  by  the  women  in  shining 
garments,'  f  which  men  John  calls  '  two  angels  in 
white.'  These  examples  will  suffice  to  show,  that,  in 
reasoning  upon  the  nature  of  Christ,  no  stress  can  be 
laid  on  the  mere  use  of  the  word  man. 

It  is  also  objected  to  the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour's 
preexistence,  that  it  deprives  his  example  of  its  appro- 
priateness and  value.  By  no  means,  I  reply.  All 
God's  spiritual  children  are  of  the  same  family.  Man 
is  distinguished  from  other  branches  of  the  same  family, 
less  by  nature,  than  by  circumstances  merely  local  and 
temporary.  The  duties  incumbent  on  all  created 
spirits,  are  the  same,  namely,  love  and  obedience  to 
the  great  Father  spirit,  love  and  charity  to  all  fellow- 
spirits.  The  particular  mode,  in  which  these  duties 
are  to  be  discharged,  depends  upon  the  circumstances, 
in  which  each  individual  spirit  is  placed  ;  and,  were  the 
greatest  of  created  spirits  to  be  clothed  with  a  human 
body,  and  to  pass  through  an  earthly  life,  his  duties 
would  be  strictly  human   duties, — his   conduct  in  any 

*  Judges  xiii.  3,  6,  20.  t  Luke  xxiv.  4. 

9* 


102  JESUS    CHRIST. 

given  situation,  would  be  precisely  what  that  of  a  com- 
mon man,  in  the  same  situation,  ought  to  be.  What- 
ever, then,  we  may  believe  with  regard  to  the  nature 
of  Christ,  if  he  was  '  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,'  his 
conduct,  in  all  human  relations,  must  have  been  precisely 
what  man's  ought  to  be,  and  must,  therefore,  be  a  fit 
example  for  our  literal  imitation.  Nor  let  it  be  said, 
that,  as  superhuman,  he  was  necessarily  sinless  ;  that 
he  could  not  have  felt  the  power  of  temptation  ;  and 
that  his  victory  over  sin,  therefore,  affords  us  no  en- 
couragement. If  he  was  a  finite  spirit,  and  a  free  agent, 
he  must  have  been  a  subject  of  temptation,  and  capable 
of  sin ;  and,  though  the  miserable  baits  of  earthly 
pleasure  and  ambition  might  have  offered  but  little 
allurement  to  a  heaven-born  spirit,  yet,  in  his  super- 
human endowments,  and  in  his  vastly  expanded  relations, 
and  sphere  of  action,  he  might  have  found  as  strong 
temptations,  as  we  do  in  the  mere  objects  of  sense, 
and  might  have  won  as  arduous  moral  victories,  as  we 
should  win,  were  we  to  lead  an  entirely  stainless  life 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

There  is  one  thought,  which,  to  my  own  mind,  attaches 
a  peculiar  worth  to  our  Saviour's  example,  on  the 
ground  of  his  preexistence.  I  have  said  that  all  spirits 
are  of  one  family.  Outward  circumstances  alone,  form 
the  dividing  line  between  good  men  and  angels.  '  In 
the  resurrection,  they  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in 
heaven.'  We  are  made  for  endless  growth.  In  this  life, 
'  it  does  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  ; '  but,  unknown 
ages  hence,  we  may  look  down  upon  the  present  spirit- 
ual attainments  of  an  archangel,  as  we   should   look  up 


JESUS    CHRIST. 


103 


to  them  now.  We  here  are  training  ourselves  in  the 
school  of  Christ  for  familiar  communion  with  the 
thrones,  principalities,  and  powers  of  heaven.  Does  it 
not  then  commend  itself  to  us  as  worthy  of  the  infinite 
wisdom  of  our  Father,  that  he  should  fit  us  for  this 
blessed  society,  through  the  agency  of  one  of  these 
elder  and  purer  spirits,  whose  exalted  perfections  may 
inspire  us  with  an  enthusiastic  zeal  as  we  seek  to  be  his 
followers,  while,  looking  to  him  as  a  brother,  as  one 
bound  by  the  same  ties,  called  to  the  same  duties  with 
ourselves,  we  may  imitate  him  without  despondency 
or  discouragement  ? 

Such  are  the  views  of  our  Saviour's  person  and 
character,  which  seem  to  me  most  consonant  with  the 
word  of  God.  They  commend  themselves  to  my  mind 
as  equally  removed  from  objectionable  extremes.  On 
the  one  hand,  they  bring  the  Saviour  within  the  range 
of  our  sympathy,  and  save  us  from  the  inextricable 
confusion  of  ideas  inseparable  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  preserve  unim- 
paired the  matchless  wisdom,  the  spotless  purity,  the 
divine  authority  of  Jesus,  and  present  him  as  a  being, 
on  whom  we  can  look  with  mingled  reverence  and  love, 

—  whom  we  can  welcome  to  our  hearts  as  a  brother, 
while  we  must  bow  before  him  as  from  a  higher  sphere, 

—  who,  at  once,  guides  us  in  the  duties  of  our  mortal 
pilgrimage,  and  makes  us,  as  partakers  of  his  glory, 
peers  of  angels,  and  citizens  of  heaven. 

While  my  reason  and  my  heart  are  satisfied  with 
these  views,  they  constitute  the  only  ground,  on  which 
1  can  make  the  voice  of  Scripture  harmonize.  The 
Trinitarian   theory   does  areat  violence  to  the  laws  of 


104  JESUS    CHRIST. 

interpretation,  and  brings  the  various  testimonies  of  the 
divine  word  into  harsh  and  irreconcilable  conflict  with 
each  other.  The  Humanitarian  expositions  of  Scripture, 
T  dare  not  trust.  They  are  lax.  They  seem  to  me  to 
wrest  the  Scriptures.  Though  they  have  the  advantage 
of  being  urged  in  behalf  of  a  doctrine,  not  absurd,  but 
in  itself  altogether  tenable,  in  a  critical  point  of  view 
they  seem  to  me  hardly  less  objectionable,  than  the 
Trinitarian  expositions  do.  The  views,  which  I  have 
now  presented,  do  no  violence,  as  I  think,  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  sound  criticism.  I  can  go  with  them  through 
the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and  find  not  a  text, 
which  gives  me  any  serious  difficulty.  They  suffer  me 
to  interpret  the  Scriptures  in  their  literal  and  obvious 
sense,  which  neither  of  the  other  theories  will.  On  this 
account,  as  one,  who  feels  inadequate  to  settle  these 
points  without  the  authority  of  express  revelation,  and 
who  receives  the  Scriptures  as  given  by  inspiration  of 
God,  I  prize  and  cherish  these  views  ;  and  should  be 
glad  to  know,  that  my  statements  and  arguments  have 
produced  in  your  minds  the  same  conviction,  that 
exists  in  my  own. 

I  close  with  a  single  reflection.  If  this  exalted  being 
entered  our  w^orld,  assumed  its  burdens  and  its  sorrows, 
and  passed  through  its  gates  of  death,  of  what  mo- 
mentous interest  and  importance  must  be  the  service, 
which  he  came  to  render, —  of  what  unspeakable  worth, 
the  salvation  which  he  brings  and  offers  !  If,  under 
a  darker  and  less  perfect  dispensation,  '  every  trans- 
gression and  disobedience  received  a  just  recompense 
of  reward,  how  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great 
salvation  ? ' 


LECTURE   IV. 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT. 

LUKE  XL   13. 

IF   YE   THEN,    BEING   EVIL,   KNOW    HOW   TO   GIVE   GOOD  GIFTS   UNTO   YOUR 

CHILDREN,  HOW  MUCH  MORE  SHALL  YOUR  HEAVENLY  FATHER 

GIVE  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  TO  THEM  THAT  ASK  HIM  ? 

The  holy  spirit  is  my  subject  this  evening.  I 
will  commence  my  lecture  by  a  word  of  explanation, 
which  will  be  necessary  for  but  few,  yet  which  some 
may  need.  We  sometimes  read  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  the  holy  spirit,  and  full  as  often  of  the  holy 
ghost.  The  original  word  is  the  same  in  one  case,  as 
in  the  other  ;  but,  at  the  time  when  the  Bible  was 
translated,  ghost  and  spirit  meant  the  same  thing, 
and  were  used  indifferently  to  express  the  same  idea. 
Since  that  time  the  word  ghost  has  become  so  re- 
stricted in  signification,  as  to  denote  only  a  spectral 
apparition  ;  while  spirit  means  the  same  now  that  it 
did  then. 

The  controversy  with  regard  to  the  holy  spirit  is, 
not  as  to  its  reality,  or  its  divinity,  but  as  to  its  person- 
ality. No  Christian  denies  that  there  is  a  holy  spirit, 
or  maintains  the  holy  spirit  to  be  an  inferior  and  subor- 


106 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT. 


dinate  person.  But  the  Trinitarian  maintains,  that  the 
holy  spirit  is  a  distinct  and  equal  person  of  the  Godhead. 
We,  on  the  other  hand,  believe  that  the  holy  spirit  is  but 
a  name,  and  a  most  appropriate  name,  for  divine  influ- 
ences and  operations,  and,  especially,  for  the  influence 
of  God  upon  the  soul  of  man.  In  the  present  lecture, 
I  shall  first  give  you  my  reasons  for  not  embracing  the 
Trinitarian  view  of  the  holy  spirit,  and  then  shall  ex- 
pound and  illustrate  my  own  view  of  the  nature  and 
influences  of  the  holy  spirit. 

I  could  name  with  great  sincerity,  as  my  first  and 
sufficient  reason  for  not  embracing  the  Trinitarian  doc- 
trine on  this  subject,  that  1  see  not  the  shadow  of  an 
argument  in  support  of  it.  I  confess,  that,  while  I 
cherish  no  disrespect  for  minds  so  constituted  as  to 
perceive  the  force  of  the  arguments  employed  in 
defence  of  this  doctrine,  I  myself  am  unable  to  appre- 
ciate them,  and  should  hardly  know  how  to  refute  them 
better  than  by  a  simple  statement  of  them. 

But,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  marked  out  for  these 
lectures,  I  shall  go  over  the  whole  ground  of  the  argu- 
ment on  both  sides,  as  thoroughly  as  I  can  in  a  single 
discourse. 

At  the  outset,  in  the  way  of  regarding  the  holy  spirit 
as  a  separate  and  independent  person  of  the  Godhead, 
there  stand  several  scores  of  passages  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, in  which  the  holy  spirit  is  spoken  of  as  subject 
to,  or  conferred  by  God  and  Christ.  Such  passages 
are  the  following:  'I  will  put  my  spirit  upon  him.'* 

*  Matthew  xii.  18. 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  107 

'  How  mnch  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the 
holy  spirit?'*  '  God  giveth  not  the  spirit  by  measure 
unto  him.'f  '  God,  who  hath  also  given  unto  us  his 
holy  spirit. ':[:  '  The  holy  ghost  sent  down  from  heaven.  '§ 
*  The  Comforter,  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the 
Father,  even  the  spirit  of  truth. '||  Who  can  send  or 
give  the  supreme  and  eternal  God?  The  very  idea  is 
unspeakably  absurd. 

I  am  aware  of  the  usual  mode  of  accounting  for 
phraseology  of  the  kind  just  quoted.  It  is  maintained 
that  the  three  equal  persons  of  the  Trinity  entered  into 
a  covenant,  by  which  the  Son  agreed  to  be  subject  to 
the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  move  at  the  bidding 
of  the  Father  and  the  Son.  But  this  covenant  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Bible.  Moreover,  it  is  a  covenant  of 
falsehood,  —  a  covenant,  by  which  the  Son  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  agree  to  act  a  lie,  —  to  represent  a  state 
of  things,  which  has  no  actual  existence,  —  to  play  an 
assumed  part.  But,  were  we  to  admit  this  incongruous 
idea,  (which  I  know  not  how  to  entertain  for  a  moment,) 
of  a  covenant  between  the  three  persons  of  the  God- 
head, I  still  should  maintain,  that,  whatever  reason 
existed  for  the  assumed  inferiority  of  the  second  and 
third  persons,  the  same  reason  must  needs  exist  for  our 
receiving  and  regarding  them  in  the  characters,  which 
they  have  assumed.  It  is  far  more  reverent  and  pious, 
to  receive  them  as  they  are  offered  to  us  in  the  gospel, 
than  to  insist  on  rending  off  the  disguise  which  they  have 
chosen  to  w^ear,  rescinding  the  covenant  which  they  have 

*  Luke  xi.  13,  t  John  iii.  34.  t  1  Thess.  iv.  8. 

§  1  Peter  i.  12.  ||  John  xv.  26. 


108  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

sealed,  and  regarding  them  in  a  light,  in  which  they  have 
agreed  not  to  be  regarded. 

Again,  were  the  holy  spirit  a  person,  especially,  a 
person  of  the  Godhead,  we  should  at  least  expect  to 
find  him  designated  by  the  use  of  a  mascuHne  noun, 
and  masculine  pronouns.  We  should  hardly  expect  to 
find  a  divine  person  generally  designated  by  a  noun  in 
the  neuter  gender,  with  articles,  pronouns,  adjectives, 
and  participles  in  the  neuter,  (for,  in  the  Greek,  all  these 
parts  of  speech  are  distinguished  by  gender.)  Yet  the 
Greek  word  rendered  spirit  or  ghost  is  neuter,  and 
is  invariably  connected  with  neuter  articles,  pronouns, 
adjectives,  and  participles.  There  is  not  an  instance, 
in  which,  in  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  a  pro- 
noun corresponding  to  our  word  /le,  his^  or  him,  is  used 
in  connection  with  the  holy  spirit ;  but  always  a  pronoun 
corresponding  to  it  or  its.  Now,  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, the  only  cases,  in  which  living  beings  are  denoted 
by  neuter  nouns  and  pronouns,  are  those  of  certain 
diminutives,  the  smallness  of  which  is  expressed  by  the 
use  of  this  gender,  —  an  idiom  like  that,  by  which  we, 
though  in  bad  taste,  call  a  very  little  child  it  instead  of 
he  or  she.  Is  there  then  the  slightest  probability  that  the 
sacred  writers  should  have  employed  the  neuter  gender 
to  denote  a  person  of  the  most  exalted  dignity,  —  a 
person  of  the  Godhead  ? 

But  the  holy  spirit  is,  four  times  in  the  gospel  of 
John,  called  the  comforter  or  advocate,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  this  term,  are  employed  words  in  the  mascu- 
line gender  ;  and,  it  is  asked,  must  not  that,  which  is 
called  by  a  word  so  manifestly  the  name  of  a  person. 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  109 

be  a  real  person,  and  not  a  mere  influence  ?  I  reply, 
that,  either  the  word  spirit^  and  the  neuter  words  used 
with  it,  are  employed  figuratively,  or  the  word  comforter 
is  so  employed.  Now  which  is  the  most  probable,  — 
that  this  divine  person  should  be  spoken  of  literally  in 
the  New  Testament  but  four  times,  and  figuratively 
several  hundreds  of  times,  and  that  too  in  a  figure, 
which  diminishes,  instead  of  amplifying  his  dignity  ; 
or,  that  a  divine  influence,  which  is  spoken  of  literally 
several  hundreds  of  times,  should  four  times  be  per- 
sonified ?  We  must,  in  answering  this  question,  bear 
it  in  mind,  that  the  personifying  of  things  without  life, 
whether  outward  objects,  or  conceptions  of  the  intellect, 
is  an  exceedingly  common  figure  of  speech,  and  one 
which  always  gives  dignity  to  the  things  personified  ; 
while  the  opposite  figure,  namely,  the  use  with  regard  to 
a  person  of  language  applicable  to  an  inanimate  object, 
is  exceedingly  rare,  and  is  seldom  employed,  except  in 
derision  or  irony,  or  to  indicate  the  exceeding  littleness 
of  the  person  spoken  of. 

To  show  the  true  value  of  the  argument  for  the 
personality  of  the  holy  spirit,  based  on  the  use  of  the 
word  comforter,  let  us  suppose  a  parallel  case.  Sup- 
pose that  a  volume  of  American  sermons  were  put  into 
the  hands  of  a  heathen,  who  understood  our  language, 
yet  did  not  know  the  import  of  the  word  Bible. 
He  would,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  often  meet  with  that 
word,  perhaps  several  times  in  each  sermon.  He 
would  find  it  always  treated  as  a  neuter  noun,  and 
would  see  its  place  supplied  by  it  and  which,  not  by  he 
and  who.  For  the  most  part,  there  w^ould  be  nothing 
10 


110  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

said  about  the  Bible,  which  was  not  literally  applicable 
to  a  book.  But  in  an  exhortation  towards  the  close  of 
one  of  the  sermons,  something  would  perhaps  be  said 
about  the  duty  of  taking  the  Bible  for  a  guide;  and 
we  will  suppose  the  word  guide  used  with  regard  to  the 
'Bible  four  times  in  this  one  passage.  Now,  were  the 
heathen  reader  to  insist  that  the  Bible  was  a  person, 
because  in  this  volume  of  sermons  it  was  /oitr  times 
called  a  guide^  he  would  reason  precisely  like  those, 
who  infer  the  personality  of  the  holy  spirit  from  the 
use  of  the  word  comforter  concerning  it,  four  times  in 
a  single  discourse  of  our  Saviour. 

Again,  any  possible  inference,  which  might  be 
drawn  in  behalf  of  this  doctrine  of  the  personality  of 
the  holy  spirit,  from  the  use  of  the  word  comforter,  is 
entirely  precluded  by  the  fact,  that  in  each  of  the  four 
instances,*  in  which  this  w^ord  is  used,  it  is  defined  by 
the  neuter  noun  spirit,  with  a  variety  of  words  in  the 
neuter  gender  connected  with  it.  The  first  instance 
reads  thus  :  '  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give 
you  another  comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you 
forever,  —  even  the  spirit  of  truth,  which  the  world 
cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  it  not,  neither  know- 
eth  it ;  but  ye  know  it ;  for  it  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you.'  Every  one  of  these  pronouns  in  the 
original  is  in  the  neuter  gender.  The  next  instance 
reads  thus  :  '  The  comforter,  that  is,  the  holy  spirit, 
which  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,'  the  relative  in 
the   Greek   being  neuter.     The  next  is  this  :  '  When 

*  John  xiv.  16,  26  ;  xv.  26  ;  xvi.  7. 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  Ill 

the  comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from 
the  Father,  even  the  spirit  of  truth,  which  proceedeth 
from  the  Father.'  In  the  fourth  instance  also,  the  com- 
forter is  defined  to  be  the  spirit  of  truth. 

I  would  next  remind  you  of  other  forms  of  speech 
in  the  New  Testament,  entirely  incompatible  with  the 
personality  of  the  holy  spirit.  The  holy  spirit  is  re- 
peatedly said  to  be  poured  out,  shed,  quenched,  and  the 
like,  and  Christians  are  said  to  be  anointed  with  the 
holy  spirit,  — expressions  never  used  with  regard  to 
persons,  but  entirely  applicable  when  used  with  regard 
to  influences. 

Another  most  decisive  argument  against  the  distinct 
and  personal  divinity  of  the  holy  spirit,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  offices  ascribed  in  the  Scriptures  to  the  Fa- 
ther, Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  respectively.  The  Trin- 
itarian theory  is,  that  there  is  a  partition  of  divine 
attributes  and  offices  between  the  three  persons,  whose 
respective  functions  are  entirely  distinct  and  separate 
from  each  other.  The  Father  is  the  Creator,  the  Son 
the  Redeemer,  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Sanctifier.  Now 
it  might  with  much  reason  be  objected  to  this  partition, 
that  the  two  last-named  offices  are  one  ;  that  sanctifica- 
tion  is  man's  only  redemption  ;  that  sin  is  precisely  what 
Jesus  came  to  save  men  from  ;  and  that  he  can  do 
this  only  by  making  them  holy.  But  we  will  not  in- 
sist on  this.  We  will  suppose  these  three  offices  of 
creator,  redeemer,  and  sanctifier,  in  themselves  entirely 
distinct  from  each  other.  Now  if  it  appears  that  the 
three  persons  of  the  Godhead,  (so  called,)  discharge 
each   other's  alleged  functions,  the   distinction  of  per- 


112  THE     HOLY    SPIRIT. 

sons  can  be  no  longer  maintained.  This,  I  think,  will 
appear  ;  and,  in  particular,  we  shall  see  that  sanctifi- 
cation,  deemed  the  special  function  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
is  ascribed  both  to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  creation  and  redemption,  regarded 
as  the  prerogatives  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  are  as- 
cribed to  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Sanctification  is  ascribed  to  the  Father.  In  a  prayer 
addressed  expressly  to  the  Father,  Jesus  says  :  '  Sanc- 
tify them  through  thy  truth.'*  St.  Paul  prays  :  '  The 
very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly.' f  St.  Jude 
addresses  his  epistle  '  to  them  that  are  sanctified  by 
God  the  Father.'! 

Sanctification  is  also  attributed  to  Jesus.  Says  St. 
Paul  :  'Of  him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  of  God  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctifi- 
cation.' §  And,  again  :  '  Christ  also  loved  the  church 
and  gave  himself  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it.'(|  Says  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  :  'We 
are  sanctified  through  the  oflMering  of  the  body  of 
Christ  once  for  all.' IT  And,  again  :  '  Jesus  also,  that 
he  might  sanctify  the  people  with  his  own  blood,  suf- 
fered without  the  gate.'** 

To  the  holy  spirit  also,  creation,  the  Father's  al- 
leged prerogative,  is  ascribed,  as  in  these  passages  : 
'  By  his  spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens. 'ff  'The 
spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the 
Almighty  hath  given  me  life.'  fl 

*  John  xvii.  17.  t  1  Thess.  v.  23.  t  Jude  1, 

§  1  Cor.  i.  30.  II  Ephesians  v.  25,  26.        IT  Heb.  x.  10,  11. 

**  Heb.  xiii.  12.  it  Job  xxvi.  13.  U  Job  xxxiii.  4. 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  113 

Every  stage  also  in  Christ's  work  of  redemption  is 
ascribed  to  the  holy  spirit.  He  ascribes  his  own  mira- 
cles to  '  the  spirit  of  God  ; '  *  and  he  is  said  to  have 
'  offered  himself  through  the  eternal  spirit.'  f 

The  Scriptures  then  leave  no  ground  for  the  dis- 
tinction of  attributes  and  offices  between  the  three 
persons  of  the  Trinity,  claimed  by  our  Trinitarian 
friends  ;  and,  in  ascribing  to  the  holy  spirit  the  same, 
and  only  the  same  attributes  and  offices  ascribed  to 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  they  make  the  distinct  per- 
sonality of  the  holy  spirit  a  theory  utterly  without  foun- 
dation. 

The  texts,  usually  quoted  in  support  of  the  person- 
ality of  the  holy  spirit,  are  those,  in  which  the  holy 
spirit  is  spoken  of  as  being  sent,  blasphemed,  tempted,, 
grieved  or  resisted,  all  which  are  not  unusual  instances 
of  personification,  and  represent  a  style  of  language 
constantly  employed  with  regard  to  objects  without 
life.  Thus  we  say,  that  a  shower  is  sent,  that  divine 
mercy  is  blasphemed,  that  one's  integrity  is  tempted, 
that  good  counsels  are  resisted. 

The  only  text,  that  demands  distinct  notice,  is  the 
following  :  '  Likewise  the  spirit  also  helpeth  our  infir- 
mities ;  for  we  know  not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we 
ought ;  but  the  spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us 
with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered.  And  he  that 
searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  the  mind  of  the  spirit, 
because  it  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according 
to  the   will  of  God. 'J     It  is   surprising  that  this  text 


*  Matt.  xii.  28.  +  Heb.  ix.  14.  t  John  viii.  26,  27. 

10* 


114  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

should  ever  have  been  quoted  as  favoring  the  idea  of 
the  supreme,  independent  divinity  of  a  spirit,  which 
intercedes,  that  is,  offers  prayer,  of  course  to  some 
superior  being  ;  nor  does  the  idea  of  groaning  accord 
with  the  serene  and  perfect  happiness  of  an  almighty 
being.  I  do  not  think,  that  the  spirit  of  God  is  re- 
ferred to  in  this  passage.  It  is  the  spirit  or  soul  of  man, 
of  the  Christian,  that  is  here  spoken  of.  The  aposde 
has  alluded,  in  the  preceding  verses,  to  the  infirmities 
of  an  earthly  condition,  which  are  to  be  borne  with 
patience  and  hope.  He  adds  :  '  The  spirit,  the  soul, 
also,  fixed  on  God  and  on  eternal  things,  helps  our 
infirmities, — sustains  our  frail  bodies.  We  indeed 
often  know  not  what  is  best  for  us,  —  what  we  ought  to 
pray  for  ;  but  the  soul  still  prays,  —  pours  itself  out  to 
God  in  aspirations  and  longings,  deep  and  fervent, 
though  often  vague  and  indefinite.  And  he,  that 
searches  the  hearts  of  men,  knows  the  mind  of 
the  spirit,  —  knows  the  meaning  of  its  groans  and 
supphcations, — knows  the  wants,  which  it  does  not 
know  itself ;  for  the  souls  of  the  righteous  intercede 
for  them  according  to  the  divine  will, —  long  and  yearn, 
in  these  groanings  that  cannot  be  uttered,  for  such 
spiritual  favors,  as  God  is  always  ready  to  bestow.' 
The  idea  of  the  passage  is,  that  the  devout  soul,  in 
all  its  infirmity  and  its  ignorance,  v^^ill  still  be  sustained, 
for  it  will  still  press  to  the  mercy-seat ;  and  that,  if  it 
knows  not  even  what  to  ask  for,  and  cannot  shape 
its  own  supplications,  God,  knowing  the  rectitude 
and  earnestness  of  its  desires,  will  satisfy  all  its  real 
wants. 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  115 

The  holy  spirit  is  not  then  a  distinct  person.  What 
is  it  ?  What  does  the  phrase  mean  ?  How  are  we 
to  account  for  its  use  ?  We  shall  not,  it  seems  to  me, 
need  to  look  far  for  our  answer.  Our  common  use  of 
the  word  spirit  will  sufficiently  explain  its  use  in  the 
sacred  writings.  What  do  we  mean  by  the  spirit  of  a 
man  ^  A  man  performs  two  kinds  of  works,  —  exerts 
two  kinds  of  agency.  Some  things  he  does  expressly, 
—  visibly,  or  audibly,  —  by  word,  or  hand,  or  writing. 
Other,  and  often  much  greater  things,  he  brings  to  pass 
by  his  influence,  —  by  silent  outgoings  from  his  charac- 
ter, —  by  the  power  of  his  example,  — by  an  agency, 
which  far  transcends  his  sphere  of  immediate  action, 
and  often  outlasts  the  period  of  his  mortal  life.  This 
influence,  this  agency,  we  usually  denominate  the 
spirit  of  the  man  ;  and  its  effects,  its  fruits,  whether  in 
the  character  of  individuals  or  in  the  state  of  society, 
we  also  designate  as  his  spirit.  For  instance,  we  call 
the  influence,  which  the  efforts  and  example  of  How- 
ard the  philanthropist  had,  and  still  have,  the  spirit 
of  Howard  ;  and,  whenever  we  see  works  like  his 
wrought,  or  persons  engaged  in  works  like  his,  we  say 
that  the  spirit  of  Howard  is  in  those  works,  or  in  those 
men.  We  then  habitually  use  the  word  spirit  to  de- 
signate, ^irs^,  a  man's  influence,  and,  secondly ,  the  ef- 
fects of  that  influence. 

Now  I  conceive  that  we  have  no  need  of  going 
beyond  these  common,  well  known  uses  of  the  word 
spirit,  to  explain  its  use  in  the  Scriptures  with  reference 
to  the  Almighty.  We  find  the  phrases,  spirit  of  God, 
spirit  of  truth,  holy  spirit,   and  the  like,  constantly 


116  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

used  in  these  senses  ;  and  there  is  not  a  passage,  as 
seems  to  me,  in  which  it  is  necessary  to  look  farther 
for  a  signification  both  obvious  and  satisfying. 

The  spirit  of  God^  the  holy  spirit,  and  like  phrases, 
most  frequently  denote  simply  the  divine  influence, 
sometimes  in  creation,  and  in  outward  events,  but,  in 
the  great  majority  of  instances,  on  the  soul  of  man. 
They  denote  indeed  a  great  diversity  of  divine  influ- 
ences, just  as,  by  the  spirit  of  a  man,  we  denote  every 
variety  of  influence,  which  a  human  being  can  exercise. 
We  trace  the  spirit  of  a  man  in  the  building  of  a  city, 
in  the  planning  of  a  voyage,  in  the  diffusion  of  literary 
taste,  in  the  establishment  of  any  public  institution,  in 
the  tone  of  moral  feeling  cherished  by  his  influence,  in 
ideas  or  sentiments,  to  which  he  gave  the  first  develop- 
ment, in  fine,  in  any  way,  in  which,  without  his  direct 
bodily  action,  his  character  has  impressed  itself  on 
objects,  events,  or  the  minds  and  hearts  of  others. 
An  equally  wide  ground  does  the  phrase  spirit  of  God, 
with  its  cognate  phrases,  cover.  It  is  used  with  refer- 
ence to  the  plenary  inspiration  and  the  power  from  on 
high,  which  rested  upon  Jesus.  To  him,  we  are  told, 
God  'gives  not  his  spirit  by  measure  ;' but  on  him 
bestows  every  form  of  divine  influence  and  endowment, 
of  which  a  created  being  is  capable.  Then  it  is  used 
concerning  the  peculiar  communications  of  light  and 
power  vouchsafed  to  the  apostles  and  their  converts. 
Those,  who  were  thus  endowed,  were  always  said  to 
have  received  the  holy  spirit.  It  is  used  of  particular 
divine  intimations  and  impressions,  as  when  the  spirit 
bade  Philip  join  the  Ethiopian,  and  sent  Peter  to  the 


THE     HOLY     SPIRIT.  117 

house  of  Cornelius.  Then,  too,  it  is  often  used,  as  in 
our  text,  to  denote  those  aids  in  the  rehgious  hfe,  which 
'  whosoever  asks,  receives,  and  he  that  seeks,  finds.' 
And  it  is  used,  in  all  these  cases,  with  regard  both  to 
the  influence  and  its  effects,  that  is,  it  is  employed  to 
designate  the  spiritual  gifts  of  God,  both  as  they  come 
from  him,  and  as  they  rest  upon  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  men. 

Now  it  is  self-evident  that  there  is  the  same  room 
for  the  use  of  this  phraseology  with  reference  to  God, 
that  there  is  with  reference  to  man.  There  is  the 
same  distinction  between  the  modes  and  forms  of 
divine  action,  that  there  is  with  reference  to  the  deeds 
and  agency  of  man.  There  are  some  things,  which 
God  confers,  utters,  or  brings  to  pass,  visibly  or  audibly. 
There  are  other  things,  which  he  gives  or  brings  to 
pass  silently,  without  any  interposing  cause  that  can  be 
seen  or  traced  ;  and  all  the  various  influences  of  this 
kind,  with  their  results  or  effects,  are  what  are  termed 
in  the  Scriptures  the  holy  spirit. 

But,  while  we  find  no  ground  in  reason  or  Scripture 
for  believing  in  the  personality  of  the  holy  spirit,  we 
regard  the  influence  of  God  upon  the  soul  of  man  as  an 
indisputable,  essential,  fundamental  doctrine  of  religion. 
What  distinguishes  us  from  our  Trinitarian  brethren  on 
this  point,  is,  that  we  regard  this  influence  as  flowing, 
not  from  a  fragment  of  the  divine  nature,  but  from  the 
whole  undivided  Deity.  And  least  of  all,  can  we 
sympathize  with  believers  in  the  Trinity,  in  separating 
God  the  Father  from  the  divine  influence  upon  the 
soul.     We  feel  that  it  is  peculiarly  in  his   fatherly  rela- 


118  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

tion  and  attributes,  that  God  is  present  with  the  soul  of 
man.  We  find  the  full  promise  of  the  holy  spirit  in 
these  words  of  Jesus:  '  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep 
my  words  ;  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will 
come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him.'  It  is 
the  spirit  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  this  alone, 
that  we  desire  and  seek,  not  a  spirit  in  any  respect  or 
degree  distinct  from  either  the  Father  or  the  Son. 

Let  me  employ  the  few  moments,  for  which  I  yet 
can  claim  your  attention,  in  developing  what  I  conceive 
to  be  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  spiritual  influences. 

In  the  first  place,  the  spirit  of  God  is  in  his  works. 
We  accord  in  full  with  the  declaration  of  the  Wisdom 
of  Solomon  :  '  Thine  incorruptible  spirit  is  in  all  things.' 
Well  has  it  been  said  :  '  This  fair  universe,  were  it  in 
the  meanest  province  thereof,  is  in  very  deed  the  star- 
domed  city  of  God.  Through  every  star,  through 
every  grass-blade,  the  glory  of  a  present  God  still 
beams.  Nature  is  the  time-vesture  of  God.'  With 
equal  truth  and  beauty,  does  Goethe  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  earth-spirit  the  words  : — 

*  'Tis  thus  at  the  roaring  loom  of  time  T  ply, 

And  weave  for  God  the  garment  thou  see'st  Him  by.' 

Our   first   parents   heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God  in 

the  garden  ;   and  they,  no  doubt    miraculously,  but  not 

one   whit  more  distinctly  than  we  may  hear  it  this  very 

night.      There  is  no   poetical   fancy,  but  literal  truth  in 

the  beautiful  words  of  the  hymn  just  sung  : — 

'  Hark  !  on  the  evening  breeze, 
As  once  of  old,  the  Lord  God's  voice 
Is  heard  amongr  the  trees.' 


THE     HOLY    SPIRIT.  119 

Such  is  the  constant  testimony  of  Scripture.     God  is 
spoken  of  as  actively  present    in  all    the    forms    and 
agencies   of   the  outward  universe.     Does   a  tempest 
rise  ?     '  He    maketh  the  winds  his  angels.'     Do  the 
thunders  roll .''     '  The  voice   of  the  Lord  is  upon  the 
waters  ;   the  God  of  glory  thundereth.'     Do   showers 
bless  the  harvest  field  ?     '  He  watereth  the  hills  from 
his  chambers.'     Does  verdure  clothe  the  plain  ^     '  He 
causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and   herb  for 
the  service  of  man.'     And  in  all  these  forms,  in  myriads 
of   ways,  is  he  speaking  to   the  hearts  of  his  human 
family,  claiming  their  worship,  casting  deep  reproach 
upon  their  coldness  and  indifterence,  and  awakening  in 
every  thoughtful  soul  the  resolution  of  the  psalmist  :  '  I 
will   sing  unto  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live  :    I  will  sing 
praise  unto    my   God  while   1   have  my  being.     My 
meditation  of  him  shall  be  sweet  :  I  will  be  glad  in  the 
Lord.  '     There  is,  I  believe,  a  perpetual   communion 
on  God's  part  with  man,  in  the  order,  harmony,  beauty, 
and  majesty  of  creation.      I  believe,  that  I  no  more 
truly  address   loving  words  day  by  day  to  the  children 
dearer  to  me  than  my  own  soul,  than  God  has  this  day 
directly  spoken  to  each  and  all  of  us,  his  children,  in 
the  sunshine  and  the  flowers,  in  the  mellow    twilight 
and  the  gentle  breeze.     I  sincerely  believe,  that  the 
express  design  of  this   fair  and  wonderful  creation  is  to 
bring  the  Creator  near,  and  to  make  his  presence  felt 
by  the  living  souls  of  men, —  to  supply  a  medium  of 
communication  between  the  Infinite  and  the  finite, — to 
render  visible  and  audible  those  thoughts  of  love,  fath- 
omless as  the  ocean,  numberless  as  its  sands. 


120  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

In  the  same  light  do  I  regard  the  whole  course  of 
Providence.  The  events  of  life,  ordered  by  the  close 
and  constant  care  of  the  Almighty,  have  each  a  voice 
from  him  for  the  spirit's  ear,  a  lesson  of  truth,  a  message 
of  duty,  a  word  of  warning  or  rebuke,  comfort  or 
encouragement.  How  near,  how  incessant  the  watchful 
presence  indicated  by  our  Saviour's  words  :  '  The 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.'  In  the  mercies 
so  thickly  strown  along  our  daily  path,  are  fulfilled,  in 
every  one  of  our  thoughtless  moments,  the  words  of 
holy  writ  :  '  God  hath  spoken  once,  yea,  twice,  but 
man  perceiveth  it  not.'  In  every  sorrow  comes  the 
voice  :  '  Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it,' 

But,  yet  more,  apart  from  outward  forms  and  events, 
I  believe  in  the  intimate  presence  and  communion  of 
God  with  the  soul  of  man.  His  hand-writing  is  on  our 
innermost  shrines  of  thought  ;  his  voice  thrills  through 
the  deepest  recesses  of  our  being.  As  the  builder  of 
a  house  may  construct  for  himself  a  secret  passage, 
opening  by  springs  which  no  one  else  can  find,  so  has 
the  Almighty  architect  of  the  soul  of  man  reserved  his 
own  hidden  avenues  of  access,  by  which  he  visits  the 
soul  in  its  days  of  gladness  and  its  night  seasons  of 
sorrow,  in  its  health  and  its  sickness,  giving  it  meat  to 
eat,  of  which  the  world  knows  not,  letting  in  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high  upon  its  darkened  chambers,  filling 
with  the  oil  of  joy  its  empty  and  shrunken  vessels. 
None  can  shut  out  the  thoughts  that  God  sends  ;  but, 
unsought,  unsuggested  by  the  ordinary  laws  of  associa- 
tion, nay,  often  unwelcome,  they  remain,  return,  haunt 
the  soul,  knock  at  the  heart's  door,  and  often  forsake  it 


THE    HOLY    SPIRIT.  121 

not,  till  they  are  cherished  and  obeyed.  How  true  to 
human  experience  are  the  psalmist's  words  :  '  Whither 
shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  '  Not  we  ourselves  can 
hold  so  close  communion  with  our  own  souls,  as  God 
can  ;  for  how  often  does  his  spirit  reverse  our  own 
inward  thoughts,  and  say  the  opposite  of  what  we  were 
saying  within  ourselves  !  We  are  whispering  peace  to 
our  souls  ;  but  the  spirit  cries,  in  a  voice  which  self- 
delusion  cannot  drown,  '  No  peace  without  repentance 
and  the  fruits  of  love.'  We  flatter  ourselves  that  we 
are  rich  and  full  ;  but  the  spirit  cries,  '  Nay, — ye  are 
poor  and  naked,  hungry,  and  thirsty, — come,  drink  of 
my  cup,  and  eat  of  my  bread,  and  put  on  my  beautiful 
garments.'  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  though  in  the  way 
of  duty,  we  doubt  and  fear  ;  and,  in  the  hour  of  sad 
self-communion,  the  spirit  enters,  and  says,  '  Peace  be 
with  you,'  and  the  cloud  rises  from  our  souls  and  melts 
away,  our  hearts  grow  warm,  and  burn  within  us,  and 
we  perceive  that  it  is  the  Lord. 

Whence  too,  when  we  have  trodden  the  path  of 
transgressors,  those  unsought  warnings,  presentiments  of 
evil,  forebodings  of  penalties  that  we  have  defied  .'' 
Whence  that  uneasy,  restless  feeling,  that  will  ever  in- 
trude itself,  when  we  linger  too  long  on  the  roadside  of 
our  heavenward  pilgrimage,  when  we  forsake  duty  for 
pleasure,  when  we  serve  Mammon  instead  of  God  ? 
Whence  those  preparation  seasons  for  the  trial  of  faith 
or  virtue,  which  every  Christian  has  experienced, — sea- 
sons, when,  without  any  outward  cause,  impressions 
have  been  borne  in  upon  our  minds,  spiritual  exercises 
have  been  induced,  and  views  and  purposes  cherished, 
11 


122  THE     HOLY    SPIRIT. 

precisely  adapted  to  exigences  just  at  hand,  yet  unfore- 
seen, as  if  our  Father,  when  he  saw  the  storm  gather- 
ing, had  hastened  to  wrap  us  beforehand  in  the  mantle 
of  his  love,  and  to  set  our  feet  in- a  straight  and  safe 
path  ?  Whence  that  serene  satisfaction,  that  joy  in  the 
Lord,  that  inward  repose  and  harmony,  which  flow 
from  trials  well  sustained  and  duties  nobly  done,  and 
which  give  us  the  surest  foretaste  of  heaven  that  we  can 
have  below  ?  Has  there  ever  been  a  day,  whether  of 
duty  or  of  sin,  of  joy  or  of  sorrow,  of  levity  or  of  seri- 
ousness, when,  if  we  had  strictly  reviewed  our  heart's 
history  for  the  day,  we  should  not  have  been  constrain- 
ed to  confess  that  God  had  been  there,  and  that  his 
spirit  had  borne  witness,  either  with,  or  against  our 
spirits  ?  No.  The  divine  spirit  has  always  sought  to 
draw  us.  God  has  been  unceasingly  near.  '  Behold  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock,'  is  his  voice  to  each  of  us. 
There  lives  not  the  man,  who  has  ever  succeeded  in 
shutting  God  from  his  heart.  Though  we  take  the 
wings  of  the  morning,  he  is  before  us.  Though  the 
darkness  cover  us,  it  hides  us  not  from  him. 

It  is  of  these  influences  of  the  divine  spirit  upon  the 
soul  of  man,  that  it  is  written,  '  Quench  not  the  spirit,' 
— '  Grieve  not  the  holy  spirit  of  God.'  For  these  in- 
fluences, the  Scriptures  teach  us,  are  not  irresistible  ; 
but,  like  the  counsels  or  the  influence  of  a  faithful  hu- 
man parent  or  friend,  may  be  disobeyed  and  disregarded. 

To  these  same  spiritual  influences,  welcomed  and 
obeyed,  the  Scriptures  ascribe  all  that  is  good  and  holy 
in  man, — all  the  graces  and  virtues  of  the  regenerate 
heart.     It  is  by  the  help  of  God,  that  we  discharge  our 


THE    HOLY    SPIRIT.  123 

duty,  that  we  grow  in  grace,  that  we  become  followers 
of  Jesus, — all  which  is  sufficiently  indicated  in  such 
Scriptures  as  these  :  '  By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what 
I  am.' — '  It  is  God  that  worketh  in  you  to  will  and  to 
do  of  his  good  pleasure.' — '  As  many  as  are  led  by  the 
spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God.' — '  The  spirit 
of  God  dwelleth  in  you.'  In  accordance  with  this  idea 
of  the  helping  spirit  of  God,  as  essential  to  the  Chris- 
tian life,  those,  who  yield  themselves  to  the  divine  in- 
fluence, are  styled  '  born  of  the  spirit,' — '  baptized 
with  the  holy  spirit ;'  and  are  said  to  '  walk  after  the 
spirit,'  to  '  hve  in  the  spirit,'  and  to  '  have  the  spirit  of 
God  resting  upon  them.' 

Such  is  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  holy  spirit^ — 
the  influence  of  God  in  nature,  in  providence,  and, 
more  than  all,  his  direct,  immediate  influence  upon  the 
heart  of  man, — not  a  constraining,  irresistible  influence, 
but  an  influence,  which  may,  on  the  one  hand,  be 
grieved  and  quenched,  or,  on  the  other,  welcomed  and 
obeyed  ;  and  which,  if  yielded  to,  becomes  the  source 
of  everything  worthy  and  holy  in  the  character,  —  the 
fountain  of  renewed  and  sanctified  affections,  and  of  a 
Christ-like  walk  and  conversation. 

For  this  spirit,  for  these  influences,  prayer  prepares 
the  soul,  so  as  to  render  them  availing  and  enduring. 
By  prayer  man  opens  the  door  of  his  heart  to  the  spirit, 
that  always  seeks  an  entrance  and  a  home  there  ;  nor 
can  any  earthly  parent  so  promptly  meet  the  wants  of 
an  only  child,  as  God,  by  his  ever  present  spirit,  fulfils 
the  desires  of  the  praying  soul. 

I  am   happy  to  believe,  that,  with  regard  to  these 


124  THE    HOLY    SPIRIT. 

fundamental,  practical  views  of  spiritual  influences, 
there  is  no  essential  difference  among  Christians.  On 
this  subject,  the  religious  phraseology  of  Christians  of 
different  modes  of  faith,  for  the  most  part,  coincides  ; 
and  all  true  religious  experience  must,  of  necessity,  be 
coincident.  This  experience  of  the  welcomed  influen- 
ces and  the  blessed  fruits  of  the  spirit,  may  God  grant 
us  all,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour. 


LECTURE   V. 


HUMAN   NATURE. 

ECCLESIASTES  VII.  29. 

LO,  THIS  ONLY  HAVE  I  FOUND,  THAT  GOD  HATH  MADE  MAN  UPRIGHT;  BUT 
THEY  HAVE  SOUGHT  OUT  MANY  INVENTIONS. 

Human  nature,  as  it  now  is,  will  be  our  subject  of 
inquiry  this  evening.  And,  as  it  is  my  chief  purpose, 
in  these  lectures,  to  discuss  topics,  on  which  we  differ 
more  or  less  widely  from  our  fellow  Christians,  I  will 
define  at  the  outset  the  view  of  human  nature,  commonly 
termed  total  depravity.  The  fairest  mode  of  doing  this 
is  by  quotations  from  the  Assembly's  Catechism,  which 
is  still  accepted  as  the  standard  of  doctrine  in  the  Cal- 
vinistic  churches  of  Great  Britain  and  America.  The 
words  of  this  catechism,  which  I  will  not  undertake  to 
interpret,  are  as  follows  :  '  God  created  man  in  his  own 
image,  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  holiness,  with 
dominion  over  his  creatures.  When  God  created  man, 
he  entered  into  a  covenant  with  him  upon  condition  of 
perfect  obedience,  forbidding  him  to  eat  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  upon  pain  of  death.  Our 
first  parents,  being  left  to  the  freedom  of  their  own 
11* 


126  HUMAN    NATURE. 

will,  fell  from  the  estate  wherein  they  were  created,  by 
sinning  against  God.  The  covenant  being  made  with 
Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  posterity,  all 
mankind,  descending  from  him  by  ordinary  generation, 
sinned  in  him,  and  fell  with  him  in  the  first  transgres- 
sion. The  sinfulness  of  that  state,  whereinto  man  fell, 
consists  in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,  the  want  of 
original  righteousness,  the  corruption  of  his  whole  na- 
ture, which  is  commonly  called  original  sin,  together 
with  all  the  actual  transgressions  which  proceed  from  it. 
All  mankind  by  the  Fall  lost  communion  with  God, 
are  under  his  wrath  and  curse,  and  so  made  liable  to 
all  the  miseries  in  this  life,  to  death  itself,  and  to  the 
pains  of  hell  forever.  This  constitutes  the  misery  of 
that  estate,  whereinto  man  fell.'  Though  this  jargon 
is  still  acknowledged  as  the  standard  of  faith,  probably 
very  few  in  our  own  community  would  pretend  to  in- 
terpret it,  or  would  own  themselves  believers  in  the 
appalling  consequences,  which  might  be  derived  from 
it.  There  are  perhaps  few,  who  would  assert,  in  so 
many  words,  that  the  unconscious  infant  lies  under 
God's  wrath  and  curse,  and  is,  by  virtue  of  his  birth 
into  the  world,  without  any  sinful  act  of  bis  own,  liable 
to  the  pains  of  hell  forever.  But  it  is  now  generally 
maintained  by  those  called  Calvinists,  first,  that  human 
nature  sustained  a  radical  change  after  Adam's  first 
transgression  ;  secondly,  that  Adam,  as  the  representa- 
tive, {the  federal  head,  as  their  phrase  is,)  of  the 
whole  human  family,  involved  all  his  posterity  in  his 
own  guilt  ;  and,  thirdly,  that  in  some  sense  or  degree 
men  are  now  born  sinners.  These  propositions  demand, 
each  a  separate  examination. 


HUMAN    NATURE.  127 

1.  It  is  maintained,  that  human  nature  sustained  a 
radical  change  after  Adam'' s  first  transgression.  This, 
if  true,  is  a  historical  fact,  of  which  we  might  with 
reason  expect  to  find  some  record  in  the  Bible.  We, 
'  however,  look  in  vain  for  it.  The  Mosaic  narrative 
says  nothing  of  such  a  change.  Man's  place  of  resi- 
dence was  indeed  changed.  He  was  driven  from  Eden, 
and  a  life  of  labor  was  appointed  him.  But  would  he 
have  been  left  in  indolence,  had  he  been  innocent  ? 
Labor  is  the  fundamental  law  of  all  spiritual  worth  and 
progress  ;  and  we  cannot  suppose,  that  if  a  man  had 
not  transgressed,  he  would  have  been  exempt  from  it. 
God  could  never  have  designed  an  earthly  paradise 
for  man's  permanent  abode.  The  law,  '  subdue  the 
earth,'  which  was  a  law  of  arduous  labor,  was  given 
before  the  fall  ;  and  the  garden  of  Eden  was  but  the 
cradle  of  man's  intellectual  infancy,  in  which  he  was 
fostered,  till  he  became  sufficiently  conversant  with 
outward  objects,  to  manage  his  own  affairs  with  dis- 
cretion. Had  he  not  sinned,  he  would  still,  for  his 
own  sake,  have  been  removed  from  the  garden,  iliough 
he  would  have  sought  the  wilderness  in  a  more  cheerful 
and  hopeful  spirit,  than  that,  in  which,  after  his  trans- 
gression, he  entered  upon  the  stern,  yet  salutary  disci- 
pline of  a  laborious  life.  But  when  he  went  forth,  no 
curse  was  uttered  upon  him,  or  upon  the  partner  of  his 
guilt.  The  condition  of  mortal  life  was  unfolded  to 
them  ;  but  it  was  not  so  much  as  hinted,  that  its  condi- 
tion would  have  been  essentially  otherwise,  had  they 
remained  innocent.  Indeed,  the  very  appointments  of 
toil   and    physical   suffering  are  those,   on    which  the 


128  HUMAN    NATURE. 

blessing  of  God  most  manifestly  rests,  —  those,  from 
which  proceeds  the  surest  growth  of  virtue  and  piety, 
—  those,  on  which  the  divine  example  of  the  innocent 
Saviour  sheds  its  brightest  rays.  But,  could  it  be  main- 
tained that  man's  condition  on  earth  was  essentially 
modified  by  Adam's  sin,  still  this  would  prove  nothing 
with  regard  to  his  nature  ;  nor  can  it  be  pretended, 
that  there  is  the  slightest  allusion  in  the  Bible  to  the 
change  of  his  nature,  as  a  historical  fact. 

But  the  change  of  man's  nature  is  inferred  from  the 
earliness  and  frequency  of  human  guilt  ever  since 
Adam,  —  from  the  fact  that  sins  are  among  the  first 
acts  of  every  man's  moral  agency.  But  the  eating  of 
the  forbidden  fruit  is  the  only  recorded  act  of  Adam's 
and  Eve's  moral  agency.  They  yielded  to  the  first 
temptation,  when  surrounded  by  what  seemed  to  be 
constraining  motives  to  obedience.  Certainly  there 
never  was  a  first  sin  so  wanton,  or  so  difficult  to  be 
accounted  for  as  theirs.  Of  every  other  tree  in  the 
garden  they  might  eat.  The  express  voice  of  God  had 
charged  them  not  to  eat  of  this.  Gratitude,  hope,  fear, 
all  conspired  to  insure  their  obedience.  But  they  fell 
as  soon  as  they  were  tempted.  What  more  have  their 
children  done  ?  Their  sin  was  of  the  same  kind  with 
most  of  the  sins  of  their  posterity,  that  is,  the  yielding 
of  principle  to  impulse,  —  the  seizing  of  a  momentary 
gratification,  without  thought,  at  the  time,  of  duty  or 
of  consequences.  If  the  sins  of  their  posterity,  then, 
prove  their  nature  to  be  depraved,  equally  does  the 
first  transgression  of  Adam  and  Eve  prove,  that  they 
were  created  with  a  depraved  nature.     There  is,  in  the 


HUMAN    NATURE. 


129 


case  of  our  first  parents,  and  in  that  of  their  posterity, 
an  identity,  which  militates  strongly  against  the  idea  of 
any  change  of  nature  after  the  fall. 

2.  It  is  maintained  by  our  Calvinistic  brethren,  that 
Adam  J  as  the  representative  or  federal  head  of  his  pos- 
terity^ involved  them  all  in  the  guilt  of  his  first  trans- 
gression. This  doctrine  assumes  for  its  basis  the 
following  alleged  facts.  God  made  at  the  outset  a  cov- 
enant 'with  Adam  in  beJialf  of  all  mankind^  the  con- 
ditions of  which  covenant  were^  that^  if  Adam  remained 
innocent,  he  and  all  his  posterity  should  enjoy  eternal 
life,  but  that,  if  he  sinned,  he  and  all  his  posterity  should 
go  into  everlasting  punishtnent.  Adam  consented  thus 
to  stand  for  the  whole  race.  They  all,  therefore, 
sinned  in  and  through  him  as  their  head  or  represen- 
tative. This  is  expressly  the  doctrine  of  the  Assem- 
bly's Catechism.  It  is  almost  too  absurd  to  demand  an 
answer  ;  and  might,  at  first  thought,  seem  too  revolting 
to  our  instinctive  notions  of  right  and  justice,  to  de- 
serve a  respectful  treatment.  But  it  has  been,  and 
still  is  believed  by  many  worthy  and  good  men  ;  and 
therefore  ought  not  to  be  passed  over  in  silence,  or 
with  sneers. 

It  seems  a  fatal  objection  to  the  doctrine  just  stated, 
that  no  mention  is  made  in  the  Bible  of  a  covenant 
between  God  and  Adam  ;  nor  is  the  slightest  hint 
anywhere  given  of  Adam's  acting  in  behalf  of  his 
posterity.  Then  again,  Adam  had  no  right  to  act 
in  their  behalf.  A  representative  must  be  author- 
ized, —  he  was  not  authorized.  You  and  I  never  gave 
him  a  power  of  attorney  to  obey  or  sin  in  our  stead  j 


130  HUMAN    NATURE. 

nor  is  it  in  the  nature  of  things  possible,  that  we 
should  be  morally  responsible  for  his  acts.  We  may  in- 
deed feel  their  consequences  ;  but  we  cannot  be  involved 
in  their  guilt,  unless  we  authorized  him  to  act  for  us. 

Yet  again,  supposing  that  Adam  had  had  the  power 
of  making  such  a  covenant,  his  making  it  would  have 
been  his  first  transgression,  and  a  sin  infinitely  more 
heinous  than  his  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  nay,  a  sin, 
for  which  his  name  ought  to  be  forever  accursed  among 
men.  Suppose  that  I  had  the  power  of  covenanting, 
that,  whatever  sins  I  might  commit,  they  should  impart 
a  guilty  taint  to  my  remotest  posterity,  would  you  not 
think  me  less  a  man,  than  a  fiend,  to  consent  to  such  a 
covenant  ? 

The  only  passage  of  Scripture  commonly  quoted  in 
support  of  this  idea  of  Adam's  federal  headship^  is 
that,  where  St.  Paul  says,  that,  '  as  by  one  man  sm 
entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  even  so  deadi 
passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned  ;  '  and 
also,  that  '  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made 
sinners.'*  But  the  whole  of  the  sentence  last  quoted, 
is,  '  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were 
made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many 
be  made  righteous.'  Now,  how  are  many  made  right- 
eous by  ChrisVs  obedience  9  Manifestly,  by  copying  it, 
and  in  no  other  possible  way,  —  by  feeling  its  influence, 
and  obeying  its  example.  In  like  manner,  (if  there  is 
any  force  in  the  apostle's  comparison,)  are  many  made 
sinners  by  Mam^s  disobedience,  by  following  it,  by 
imitating  it,   by  yielding  to  like  temptations.     But,  in 

*  Romans  v.  12-19. 


HUMAN    NATURE.  131 

this  same  connection,  the  apostle  says,  that  '  death 
reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that 
had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  trans- 
gression,' by  whom,  Doddridge,  (whose  orthodoxy  as 
a  critic  none  will  question,)  says,  and  rightly,  as  I 
think,  that  infants  were  intended.  Now,  if  Adam 
sinned  in  behalf  of  his  posterity,  infants,  having  sinned 
in  and  through  him,  could  not  have  been  excluded  by 
the  apostle  from  a  share  in  his  guilt.  Moreover,  this 
phrase,  the  similitude  of  AdaiiVs  transgression^  is  of 
prime  importance,  as  defining  the  sense  of  the  whole 
passage.  The  human  race  in  general  is  here  spoken 
of  by  St.  Paul,  as  somehow  connected  with  the  sin  of 
their  first  parent.  The  apostle  speaks  of  some,  who 
are  not  thus  connected,  and  describes  them  as  not  hav- 
ing '  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression.' 
The  inference  is  irresistible,  that  the  rest  of  mankind 
were  spoken  of  as  connected  with  Adam's  sin,  because 
they  had  '  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  his  transgres- 
sion,' and  that  their  connection  with  him  was  that  of 
similarity  or  imitation.  Let  it  be  also  borne  in  mind, 
that  this  'similitude  of  Adam's  transgression'  could 
not  have  existed  in  any  of  his  posterity,  if  the  race  had 
undergone  a  change  of  nature  ;  but  the  similitude  did, 
and  does  exist,  if  his  posterity,  with  a  nature  as  pure 
as  his,  have  in  general  fallen  into  sin  as  wantonly  and 
as  promptly  as  he  did. 

Once  more,  the  idea  of  Adam's  having  bound  the 
whole  race  in  the  guilt  of  his  first  transgression  is  op- 
posed to  very  many  express  declarations  of  holy  writ, 
of  which  it  may  be  sufficient  to  quote  the  following, 


132  HUMAN    NATURE. 

than  which  T  can  conceive  of  nothing  more  decisive. 
'  The  son  shall  not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father, 
neither  shall  the  father  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  son  : 
the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  be  upon  him, 
and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him.'* 
3.  It  is  maintained,  (and  perhaps  the  idea  in  the 
minds  of  many  professed  believers  in  man's  native  de- 
pravity, may  amount  to  little  more  than  this,)  that  men 
are  in  some  sense  or  degree  born  sinners ,  —  that  every 
man  comes  into  the  world  depraved,  that  is,  averse 
from  all  that  is  good,  and  inclined  to  all  that  is  evil. 
With  regard  to  this  notion,  the  first  question  is, — is 
God  the  creator  of  every  individual  human  being  that 
is  now  born,  so  that  men  and  women  of  the  present 
day  may,  in  any  proper  sense,  be  termed  his  workman- 
ship and  his  offspring  ?  If  so,  and  if  man  be  born  de- 
praved, then  does  God  create  that,  which  is  positively 
bad  and  evil,  —  that,  which  is  utterly  opposed  to  his 
will  and  law,  —  that,  in  which  he  can  take  no  pleasure, 
—  that,  which  he  must  needs  view  from  the  first  with 
positive  displeasure  and  abhorrence.  Now  it  is  the 
height  of  absurdity  to  maintain,  that  an  Almighty  being 
can  create  what  he  hates  and  abhors,  or  that  an  infin- 
itely good  and  holy  being  can  create  what  is  essentially 
evil  and  vile.  It  is  intrinsically  necessary,  that  what- 
ever God  creates  should  be  good,  very  good,  per- 
fect in  its  kind  and  for  its  purpose.  What  he  creates 
must  necessarily  be  the  transcript  of  his  own  ideas, 
and  therefore  pure  as  he  is  pure  ;  nor  can   I  conceive 

*  Ezekiel  xviii.  20. 


HUMAN    NATURE.  133 

of  a  fouler  blasphemy,  than  to  ascribe  to  the  eternal 
Father  the  authorship  of  what  is  intrinsically  vile  and 
hateful. 

But  I  apprehend  that  the  advocates  of  the  popular 
doctrine  of  depravity  are  not,  in  general,  chargeable 
with  this  blasphemy.  Their  phraseology  would  seem 
to  imply,  that  God  was  the  Creator  of  Adam  and 
Eve  only,  —  that  he  is  not  in  any  proper  sense 
the  Creator  of  the  men  and  women  that  now  are, 
—  that  the  Greek  poet  was  mistaken,  when  he  said, 
'  For  we  are  also  His  offspring.'  They  attribute  to 
Adam,  rather  than  to  God,  the  authorship  of  human 
nature  as  it  now  is.  But  I  am  content  to  rest  the 
truth,  that  God  is  the  Creator  and  Father  of  all  men, 
on  the  simple  doctrine  of  a  paternal  Providence  as 
revealed  in  the  Bible.  I  cannot  believe,  that  they,  the 
hairs  of  whose  heads  are  all  numbered,  that  they,  who 
are  bidden  to  dismiss  all  doubt  and  care  because  God 
careth  for  them,  are  thus  dependent  on  any  other  being 
than  their  Maker,  —  are  thus  kept  and  blest  by  any 
other  than  their  Father.  And,  if  God  be  their  Maker 
and  their  Father,  I  know  that  their  nature  must  be 
good,  however  frail,  and  however  much  they  may  have 
perverted  it. 

I  have  thus  attempted  to  analyze,  and  to  refute  In 
detail,  the  popular  doctrine  of  depravity.  There  are, 
however,  several  general  observations  to  be  made 
upon  it. 

The  idea  of  native  depravity  is  opposed  to  our  own 
consciousness.  We  do  not  feel  as  if  sin  were  natural 
to  us.  There  are  portions  of  our  nature,  that  always 
12 


134  HUMAN    NATURE. 

rise  up  against  it.  We  always  feel,  that  we  were  made 
for  something  better.  We  are  stung  with  self-reproach 
when  we  sin,  which  could  not  be  the  case,  were  sin 
natural ;  for  whatever  is  in  accordance  with  nature 
must  needs  be  satisfying  and  agreeable  to  the  nature, 
with  which  it  accords.  We  never  sin  without  a 
motive,  whereas,  were  we  natively  depraved,  we  should 
sin  spontaneously,  and  from  the  mere  love  of  sin. 
Bad  men,  the  worst  men,  never  sin  for  the  sake  of 
sinning  ;  but  act  kindly  and  do  right,  when  they  are  not 
expressly  urged  to  sin  by  appetite  or  passion.  You 
may  ask  your  way  to  a  particular  place,  of  the  vilest 
sinner  living ;  and,  unless  he  has  some  immediate 
motive  for  misleading  you,  he  will  point  out  the  right 
way,  with  a  minuteness  and  assiduity  proportioned  to 
the  intricacy  of  the  road,  and  to  the  inconvenience 
which  might  result  from  your  not  finding  it.  Do  you 
not  suppose,  that  it  is  one  of  the  rarest  of  events  for  a 
man  to  be  in  any  such  matter  misdirected  or  deceived, 
from  the  mere  caprice  of  wickedness,  without  some 
special  motive  of  cupidity  or  revenge  .''  Yet,  were 
men  natively  depraved,  they  would  be  perpetually  mis- 
guiding and  circumventing  each  other,  for  the  mere 
love  of  evil  ;  and  it  would  require  a  selfish  motive,  in 
order  for  an  unregenerate  man  to  tell  the  truth,  or  to 
perform  the  most  common  act  of  neighborly  courtesy 
or  kindness. 

Those  who  have  been  most  familiar  with  crime,  your 
Howards,  your  Fryes,  and  your  Tuckermans,  those 
who  dive  down  into  the  lowest  depths  of  depravity  to 
seek  and   save  its  victims,  will  tell  you,  that  they  find 


HUMAN    NATURE.  135 

none  utterly  depraved  ;  and  that,  even  among  those, 
who  have  been  strangers  to  every  humanizing  influence, 
who  have  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the  most 
pestilential  atmosphere,  and  within  the  very  gates  of 
death,  there  are  to  be  traced  the  filaments  of  noble 
powers  and  lofty  sentiments.  They  will  bring  forth 
for  you,  from  among  the  offscourings  of  all  things,  as 
we  are  too  prone  to  deem  them,  striking  traits  and 
instances  of  sympathy,  pity,  persevering  kindness,  fidel- 
ity, self-sacrifice.  They  will  tell  you  of  a  quick  moral 
sensibility  and  a  tender  conscience  among  these  out- 
casts, with  regard  to  the  few  things,  in  which  their 
duty  has  been  made  known  to  them.  They  will  tell 
you  of  yearnings  and  aspirations  for  goodness  and 
for  purity,  even  in  the  dens  of  the  grossest  pollution. 
And  do  not  all  these  things  betoken  a  nature  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  and  noble  still  in  its  debase- 
ment and  defilement  ?  Such  developments  of  char- 
acter cannot  be  traced  to  any  kind  or  degree  of 
moral  culture  ;  for  they  are  often  witnessed  where 
there  has  been  no  culture,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
every  possible  form  and  mode  of  vicious  example 
and  influence  from  the  cradle.  The  elements  of 
good,  that  are  found  in  persons  thus  trained,  God 
must  have  lodged  in  their  natures,  as  they  came  from 
his  hands,  —  else  they  are  an  effect  without  any  assign- 
able cause. 

The  phenomena  of  infancy  and  childhood,  also, 
rebut  the  idea  of  native  depravity.  There  is,  in  the 
young  spirit,  a  simplicity,  an  ingenuousness,  which  can 
bear  no  kindred  with  a  sinful   nature.     In  the  fountain 


136  HUMAN    NATURE. 

of  being,  as  it  first  rises,  there  is  a  transparent  purity, 
which  indicates  that  it  can  gush  from  no  polluted  source. 
The  moral  sensibilities  of  young  children  are  always  in 
the  right  direction  ;  their  moral  intuitions  marvellously 
clear  and  true.  They  are,  indeed,  easily  and  often  led 
astray, —  their  impulses  are  strong,  their  power  of 
resistance  weak  ;  yet  the  prompt  tear  of  penitence  when 
they  sin,  and  the  panting  earnestness,  with  which  they 
hasten  to  seek  forgiveness  of  their  human  parents,  and, 
when  rightly  directed,  of  their  Father  in  heaven, 
sufficiently  show  '  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts.'  And  how  quick  do  their  eyes  glisten  at  the 
recital  of  a  good  deed,  — how  strong  their  loathing  for 
all  that  is  ungenerous,  base,  and  vile  !  How  free  their 
love, — how  slow  their  hatred,  even  under  unkind  or 
harsh  treatment  !  The  closer  my  acquaintance  with 
little  children,  with  the  more  utter  horror  and  loathing 
do  I  turn  from  the  remotest  approach  to  the  doctrine 
of  native  depravity.  1  feel,  when  with  litde  children, 
that  I  am  very  near  the  pure  fountain  of  life.  They 
seem  to  me  fresh  from  the  baptism  of  a  Father's  bless- 
ing. I  see  his  signature  on  their  innocent  brows,  on 
their  guileless  spirits.  I  can  sympathize  in  full  with 
the  beautiful  words  of  a  favorite  poet  : — 

'  A  boundless  wealth  of  love  and  power 
In  the  young  spirit  lies,  — 
Love,  to  enfold  all  natures 

In  one  benign  embrace,  — 
Power,  to  diffuse  a  blessing  wide 
O'er  all  the  human  race  !  ' 

But  to  think  that  there  is  depravity  in   those  young 


HUMAN    NATURE.  137 

spirits,  as  God  sends  them  forth,  —  to  think  that  there 
is  more  of  evil  than  of  good  in  what  we,  parents,  are 
accustomed  to  hail  as  God's  best  gift,  —  to  believe  that 
there  is  a  frown  of  divine  displeasure,  a  sentence  of 
damnation,  hanging  over  the  sweet  babe,  —  to  believe 
that  the  child,  as  yet  incapable  of  discerning  between 
good  and  evil,  can  even  need  pardon  or  redemption, — 
oh  it  would  separate  me  from  my  little  ones.  I  would 
sooner  go  into  the  wilderness,  and  live  a  hermit,  than 
look  upon  them  with  the  eye,  with  which  I  must  view 
them,  did  I  believe  that  either  God  or  Adam  had  made 
them  sinners.  Not  mine  should  be  the  hopeless, 
despairing  task,  of  attempting  to  repair  the  work,  which 
God  had  sent  into  the  world  defiled  and  ruined. 

The  idea  of  man's  being  born  a  sinner  will  also 
appear  unreasonable,  when  we  consider  the  nature  of 
sin.  '  Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law.'  The  very 
idea  of  sin  implies  wrong  volition  on  the  part  of  the 
sinner.  A  thing  or  being  may  be,  by  nature,  defective, 
ill-constructed  ;  but  sin  must  be  a  matter  of  personal 
choice. 

But,  could  we  admit  as  possible  the  doctrine  of 
native  depravity,  it  would  render  sin  in  its  active  forms 
impossible,  or  rather,  it  would  make  that,  which  we 
now  call  goodness,  sin.  The  utmost  that  can  be 
expected  or  demanded  of  any  person,  is,  that  he  should 
be  and  do  what,  in  his  very  nature,  God  has  fitted  him 
to  be  and  do.  The  nature  of  a  person  includes  all  his 
perceptions,  instincts,  impulses,  powers,  and  faculties. 
In  a  sinful  nature,  these  must  all  be  evil,  so  that  to  do 
evil  would  be  the  right  and  appropriate  work  of  such  a 
12* 


138   .  HUMAN    NATURE. 

nature  ;  while,  in  order  to  be  or  to  do  good,  it  must 
violate  the  fitness  of  things,  depart  from  the  analogy  of 
other  beings,  and  thwart  the  purposes  of  its  creation. 
A  sinful  nature  and  accountability  for  moral  evil  cannot 
coexist.  If  God  has  given  me  a  sinful  nature,  he  gave 
it  to  me  with  the  design  and  expectation  that  I  should 
do  evil,  and  evil  only.  I  may  then  say  with  perfect 
fitness, 

'  Evil,  be  thou  my  good  ;  ' 

and,  if  I  can  claim  any  praise  or  benefit  at  God's  hands, 
it  will  be  for  cultivatiing  and  exercising  my  evil  propen- 
sities, for  making  myself  as  bad  as  I  can,  and  doing  as 
much  evil  as  I  can.  If  he  has  given  me  an  evil  nature, 
I  should  offend  him  and  incur  his  just  displeasure,  by 
trying  to  be  good  or  to  do  good.  If  I  am  blameworthy, 
and  penally  accountable  to  God,  for  my  sins,  (and  my 
own  conscience  and  the  word  of  God  both  tell  me  that 
I  am,)  it  must  be  because  he  has  given  me  a  nature 
fitted  for  duty  and  for  goodness. 

The  Scriptural  argument  for  man's  native  depravity 
is  almost  too  slender  to  claim  attention.  The  leading 
proof-text  for  this  doctrine  has  already  been  made  the 
subject  of  discussion.  I  know  of  but  two  others,  which 
it  is  necessary  to  notice.  One  is  the  expression  of 
David  :  '  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity  ;  and  in  sin  did  my 
mother  conceive  me.'  *  One  must  strangely  misappre- 
hend the  design  and  spirit  of  this  psalm,  in  looking  to  it 
for  an  explicit,  formal  statement  of  theological  dogmas. 
This  psalm  was   the  expression    of   David's    intense 

*  Psalm  li.  5. 


HUMAN    NATURE.  139 

anguish  and  remorse  for  one  of  the  most  flagitious  crimes, 
with  which  a  human  being  was  ever  stained.  His 
agony  of  contrite  sorrow  was  commensurate  with  the 
enormity  of  his  guilt  ;  and  the  language  of  passionate 
grief  and  self-reproach  is  always  hyperbolical.  At  such 
a  moment,  how  naturally  would  his  earliest  sins,  the 
sins  of  very  infancy,  like  the  ghosts  of  the  long  buried, 
have  flashed  upon  his  mental  vision,  and  called  forth 
vehement  expressions  of  the  deepest  self-condemnation  ! 
And  how  natural  an  expression  of  those  early  sins  are 
the  words  now  under  consideration,  especially  when 
we  consider  the  highly  impassioned  style,  in  which  the 
whole  psalm  is  written  !  There  is  no  greater  hyperbole 
in  these  words,  viewed  as  referring  to  the  sins  of  child- 
hood and  youth,  than  there  is  in  the  following  w^ords 
in  the  same  connection  :  '  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and 
I  shall  be  clean  :  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than 
snow.  Make  me  to  hear  joy  and  gladness,  that  the 
bones  which  thou  hast  broken  may  rejoice.'  We  do 
not  suppose  that  David's  bones  had  actually  been 
broken,  or  that  he  expected  to  be  whiter  than  snow  ; 
why  not  then  apply  to  the  words  under  discussion  the 
same  rules  of  interpretation,  which  must  confessedly  be 
applied  to  these  expressions  ?  But,  whatever  is  meant 
by  these  words,  it  is  evident,  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt, 
that  David  did  not  write  this  psalm  as  a  careful,  logical 
statement  of  doctrine,  but  merely  as  a  humble,  heart- 
stricken  confession  of  sin  before  God.  As  such,  it  is 
to  be  read,  interpreted,  felt,  and  made  profitable  for  re- 
proof, and  instruction  in  righteousness. 

The  other  proof-text,  to  which  I  would  make  par- 


140  HUMAN    NATURE. 

ticular  reference,  is  this  :  '  We  all  had  our  conversation 
in  times  past  in  the  lust  of  our  flesh,  fulfilling  the  desire 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind  ;  and  were  by  nature 
children  of  icrath,  even  as  others.'*  St.  Paul  is  here 
addressing  those  recently  converted  from  idolatry,  and 
has  spoken  of  their  former  sinful  habits,  which  had 
subjected  them  to  the  divine  displeasure.  He  adds  : 
'  We  Jews  also  led  a  similarly  sinful  life  before  our 
conversion,  and  were  by  nature,  that  is,  in  our  former 
condition,  as  much  the  subjects  of  the  divine  displeas- 
ure, as  much  the  children  of  wrath,  as  you  were.' 
And  the  moral,  which  St.  Paul  deduces  from  this 
statement  is,  'By  grace  are  ye  saved,'  that  is,  Christian 
privileges  came,  not  because  you  or  we  deserved  them, 
but  through  the  free,  unpurchased  mercy  of  God.  The 
phrase,  by  nature,  St.  Paul  elsewhere  employs  to 
denote  condition,  as,  for  instance,  where  he  says  :  '  We 
who  are  Jews  by  nature,  and  not  sinners  of  the  Gen- 
tiles.' t 

But  the  Scriptural  argument  against  the  doctrine  of 
native  depravity,  and  in  behalf  of  the  rectitude  of 
human  nature,  as  it  comes  from  the  Creator's  hand,  is 
full,  far  beyond  our  need,  and  to  the  utmost  limit  of  our 
desire. 

In  the  first  place,  the  almost  numberless  recognitions, 
in  the  Bible,  of  man's  moral  accountability  and  of  a 
future  retribution,  imply  the  native  rectitude  of  human 
nature  ;  for,  in  the  precise  proportion,  in  which  human 
nature  is  depraved,  man's  accountabihty  ceases,  and 
he  ceases  to  merit  punishment  for  his  sins. 

*  Ephesians  ii.  3.  t  Galatians  ii.  15. 


HUMAN    NATURE.  141 

Again,  man  is  constantly  addressed  and  treated  in 
the  Bible,  as  if  he  had  within  himself  the  means  of 
forming  a  correct  moral  decision  in  many  cases,  though 
not  the  capacity  to  frame  a  perfect  rule  of  conduct. 
Our  Saviour  asked  the  people  :  '  Why  even  of  your- 
selves judge  ye  not  what  is  right  ? '  *  He  was  in  the 
constant  habit  of  appealing  to  men's  consciences,  as  if 
conscience  had  a  real  existence,  and  were  always  on 
the  side  of  virtue.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Gentiles, 
who  have  not  God's  revealed  law,  as  '  doing  by  nature 
the  things  contained  in  the  law,'  as  '  being  a  law  unto 
themselves,'  and  as  '  shewing  the  work  of  the  law 
written  in  their  hearts,'!  —  all  which  is  utterly  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  of  native  depravity. 

Again,  our  Saviour  speaks  of  little  children,  in  a  way, 
which  shews  that  he  saw  no  marks  of  depravity  in  them. 
When  he  wished  to  rebuke  the  unholy  strife  of  his 
apostles,  he  *  called  a  litlie  child  unto  him,  and  set  him 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said.  Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children, 
ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 'J 
When  little  children  were  brought,  that  he  might  bless 
them,  instead  of  designating  them  as  the  children  of 
perdition,  and  as  lying  under  God's  wrath  and  curse, 
he  said,  '  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  §  These 
texts  are  with  me  decisive,  as  to  our  Saviour^s  opinion 
of  human  nature  ;  and  I  desire  to  look  no  farther.  I 
am  sure  that  the  nature,  whose  most  recent  and  genuine 
representatives  Christ  pronounced^nearest  the  kingdom 

*  Luke  xii.  57.  t  Romans  ii.  14,  15. 

t  Matthew  xviii.  2,  3.  §  Matthew  xix.  14. 


142  HUMAN    NATURE. 

of  heaven,  must  be  a  good  nature,  and  worthy  of  its 
Maker  and  Father. 

I  might  accumulate  Scriptural  proof  indefinitely  ;  but 
I  have  given  you  as  much  as  you  can  need. 

I  have,  in  this  lecture,  occupied  myself  chiefly  in  ex- 
posing and  combating  a  radically  false  view  of  human 
nature.  But,  while  I  would  not  abase,  I  would  not 
inordinately  glorify  human  nature.  I  believe  it  good 
and  pure,  yet  frail.  All  man's  appetites,  impulses, 
powers,  and  innate  sentiments,  are  good  in  themselves  ; 
and,  fitly  balanced,  and  employed  in  right  directions 
and  on  worthy  objects,  must  conduce  to  his  own  true 
good,  and  to  the  glory  of  his  Maker.  But  let  their  bal- 
ance be  deranged,  or  let  any  of  them  be  misdirected, 
they  become  ministers  of  sin  and  sources  of  evil.  The 
bodily  appetites  are  good  in  themselves,  and,  if  confined 
to  their  lawful  gratification,  never  interfere  with  man's 
virtue.  The  native  emotions  of  the  soul  are  all  equally 
innocent  ;  it  is  only  excess  or  misdirection,  that  can 
make  them  sinful.  The  affections  are  the  crown  and 
joy  of  life  ;  and,  while  fixed  on  worthy  objects,  are 
the  unfailing  means  of  pure  happiness  and  vigorous 
spiritual  growth.  But  human  nature  is  composed  of 
cravings,  desires,  and  capacities,  which  must,  at  first, 
be  nourished  and  directed  through  the  agency  of  others, 
often  through  indiscreet,  sometimes  through  wicked 
agency,  and  almost  always  through  the  blended  agency 
of  many,  in  which  some  faulty  ingredients  can  hardly 
fail  to  mingle.  Hence  the  sins  of  infancy  and  child- 
hood ;  and  the  doctrine  of  native  depravity  ascribes  to 
the  Almighty's  workmanship   what  is  due  to  our  rude, 


HUMAN    NATURE.  143 

or  weak,  or  foolish  handling  of  it,  —  ascribes  to  nature 
what  flows  from  education. 

But  the  hour  forbids  rny  pursuing  this  train  of  re- 
mark ;  and  I  close  by  barely  pointing  out  two  impor- 
tant practical  uses  of  the  doctrine,  which  it  has  been 
the  aim  of  this  lecture  to  establish,  namely,  that  God 
sends  every  human  spirit  into  the  world  pure,  free 
from  all  stain  of  sin,  and  endowed  with  no  powers 
or  affections,  which  are  not  good  in  themselves,  and 
capable  of  a  worthy  and  virtuous  direction  and  devel- 
opment. 

1.  This  view  magnifies  the  evil  of  sin,  and  makes 
transgression  against  God  a  fit  ground  for  the  deepest 
self-reproach  and  the  most  hearty  penitence.  Did  I 
believe  that  God  had  given  me  a  sinful  nature,  I  could 
not  reproach  myself  for  sin  ;  for  God  would  be  the  sin- 
ner ;  —  I  could  not  repent  ;  for  I  should  be  conscious 
of  no  blame.  But  if  God  has  made  me  upright,  and  I 
have  sinned  against  the  good  and  pure  nature  which  he 
has  given  me, —  if  I  have  violated  the  laws  of  my  own 
being,  and  made  that,  which  he  ordained  for  life,  death, 
—  then  have  I  abundant  reason  for  contrite  sorrow. 
The  sin  is  mine.  I  am  not  tempted  of  God.  I  can 
cast  no  reproach  on  the  Author  of  my  being.  I  must 
lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth,  and  my  mouth  in  the 
dust,  and  cry,  unclean,  unclean. 

2.  The  view,  which  regards  human  nature  as  na- 
tively sinless  and  pure,  cherishes  humility.  Did  I  be- 
lieve myself  utterly  depraved  by  nature,  I  can  hardly 
set  limits  to  what  my  pride  would  be,  on  account  of 
whatever  slight  and  imperfect  degree  of  virtue  I  might 


144  HUMAN    NATURE. 

possess  ;  for  it  would  be  so  much  raised  from  a  barren 
and  blighted  soil.  It  would  be  a  worthy  ground  for 
boasting.  But  if  God  has  given  me  a  nature  perfectly- 
adapted  to  his  service,  and  capable  of  all  things  high 
and  holy,  and  if  I  have,  in  ways  and  times  without 
number,  departed  from  the  dictates  of  that  nature,  vio- 
lated its  laws,  cramped  or  distorted  its  energies,  neg- 
lected its  culture,  and  suffered  wild  grapes  to  grow  on 
the  vine  of  God's  careful  planting  and  watchful  hus- 
bandry, then  must  I  feel  humbled  in  view  of  what  God 
has  done  and  I  have  not  done,  of  what  he  has  given 
and  I  have  not  rendered  back. 


LECTURE   VL 


REGENERATION. 

JOHN  III.   3. 

EXCEPT  A  MAN  BE  BORN  AGAIN,  HE  CANNOT  SEE  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD. 

The  connection,  in  which  the  conversation  with 
Nicodemus  occurs,  casts  so  essential  light  upon  the 
naeaning  of  our  text,  that  I  will  commence  my  dis- 
course by  calling  your  attention  to  it.  Unfortunately, 
the  arbitrary  division  of  chapters  breaks  the  thread  of 
the  narrative,  which  includes  the  last  three  verses  of  the 
second  chapter,  —  '  Wlien  Jesus  was  in  Jerusalem  in 
the  feast  day,  many  believed  in  his  name,  when  they 
saw  the  miracles  which  he  did,'  that  is,  beheved  in  him 
theoretically,  —  acknowledged  him  as  a  divine  teacher, 
but  without  submitting  their  hearts  and  lives  to  his 
teachings.  '  But  Jesus  did  not  commit  himself  unto 
them,'  —  did  not  repose  entire  trust  in  them,  —  did  not 
admit  them  to  a  confidential  footing  ;  for  he  placed  no 
value  upon  mere  profession,  or  a  mere  barren  belief. 
'  He  knew  all  men,'  read  their  characters,  '  knew  what 
was  in  man  ; '  and  bestowed  or  withheld  his  confidence 
accordingly.  Under  this  general  statement,  to  illustrate 
13 


146  REGENERATION. 

the  mode  in  which  Jesus  dealt  with  those,  to  whom 
'he  did  not  commit  himself,'  the  evangelist  now  brings 
forward  the  case  of  Nicodemus  as  an  individual  exam- 
ple. There  was  one  of  these  intellectual,  yet  not 
spiritual  converts,  'Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,' 
who  for  fear  of  losing  caste  among  the  Pharisees, 
'  came  to  Jesus  by  night,'  no  doubt  with  the  purpose 
of  securing  his  favor,  whenever  his  star  should  be  on 
the  ascendant.  He  came  with  a  profession  of  the 
belief,  at  which  he  had  arrived  on  the  feast-day  : 
'  We  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  sent  from  God  ;  for 
no  man  can  do  these  miracles  that  thou  doest,  except 
God  be  with  him.'  Jesus,  knowing  what  was  in  the 
man,  and  perceiving  that  his  heart  had  not  been  touched 
by  'the  word  of  the  kingdom,'  makes  to  him  the  dec- 
laration, which  I  have  taken  for  my  text :  '  Except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.' 
By  this  we  must  obviously  understand  our  Saviour  as 
saying  to  him:  '  Nicodemus,  it  is  not  enough  for  thee  to 
believe  me  a  divine  teacher,  miraculously  empowered 
and  endowed.  It  is  not  enough  for  thee  to  be  willing 
to  follow  me  outwardly,  when  wealth  and  honor  shall 
be  in  my  train.  Wouldst  thou  truly  be  my  disciple, 
thou  must  be  mine  inwardly,  in  principle  and  character, 
—  thou  must  be  a  different  man,  a  new  man,  —  thou 
must  be  born  again.' 

With  regard  to  this  passage,  several  erroneous  views 
have  been  maintained.  Some  have  supposed  these 
words  addressed  to  Nicodemus  as  a  Jew,  and  have 
understood  them  as  referring  merely  to  the  change 
of  opinion,    necessary    in    order   for   him  to  become 


REGENERATION.  147 

a  Christian.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  this  change  had 
aheady  taken  place,  at  least  so  far  as  it  took  place 
in  the  apostles  during  their  Master's  lifetime  ;  for 
they  ceased  not  to  be  dev^out  Jews  on  account  of  their 
allegiance  to  Jesus.  Nicodernus  already  believed  Jesus 
to  be  a  divine  teacher.  The  change,  which  remained 
to  be  wrought  in  him,  was  that  of  principle  and  char- 
acter. 

It  has  been  maintained  by  the  Romish  Church,  and 
by  many  members  of  the  English  and  American  Epis- 
copal Church,  in  whose  service-book  the  idea  is  dis- 
tinctly recognized,  that  baptism^  even  infant  baptism,  is 
the  regeneration  here  spoken  of ;  for,  in  amplifying  his 
meaning,  our  Saviour  says  :  '  Except  a  man  be  born  of 
icater  and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.'  But,  in  my  opinion,  water  in  this  verse 
does  not  even  refer  to  Christian  baptism  ;  but  to  a  form 
of  baptism,  with  which  Nicodemus  was  well  acquainted. 
When  the  Jews  received  a  proselyte  into  their  fold,  it 
was  their  custom  to  baptise,  or  wash  with  water,  him 
and  his  whole  family  ;  and  after  this  process,  they  were 
accustomed  to  call  the  proselyte  new-born,  or  one  born 
again.  Now  our  Saviour  introduces  the  icater  in  this 
discourse,  to  signify  to  Nicodemus,  that  it  was  no  such 
superficial  process  that  he  intended  by  the  new  birth, 
that  a  washing  with  water  was  not  enough,  and  that 
something  inward,  not  outward,  must  be  wrought,  in 
order  to  constitute  true  regeneration.  '  Except  a  man 
be  born,  not  merely  of  the  water,  which  you  deem 
enough  to  admit  a  man  to  the  privileges  of  Judaism, 
but  also  of  the  divine  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.' 


148  REGENERATION. 

We  have  arrived,  then,  at  the  conclusion,  that  it  is 
no  mere  change  of  opinions,  nor  yet  a  mere  outward 
rite  or  profession,  that  is  imphed  in  being  born  again  ; 
but  that  the  phrase  denotes  something  inward  and  spir- 
itual. Nicodemus  stood,  with  reference  to  Christianity, 
precisely  as  the  great  mass  of  those  born  in  Christian 
countries,  and  baptized  in  infancy,  now  stand,  —  in  the 
attitude  of  intellectual  belief,  but  not  in  that  of  moral 
obedience ;  nor  is  there  any  ground,  on  which  the 
requisition  of  the  new  birth  could  have  been  made  of 
Nicodemus,  on  which  it  should  not  also  be  made  of- 
every  person  of  mature  understanding,  who  is  not 
already,  in  heart  and  life,  a  sincere  and  devoted  follower 
of  Christ.  We  are  now  prepared  to  answer  the  fol- 
lowing questions,  with  reference  to  regeneration. 
What  is  regeneration  }  Is  it  essential  to  every  human 
being  ^  Is  it  instantaneous,  or  gradual  ?  Is  it  an  indeli- 
ble process  ;  or  may  the  regenerate  fall  from  their  high 
estate  ?  By  what  agency  is  it  affected  ^  What  evidence 
of  it  in  ourselves  may  we  deem  sufficient  ?  What  evi- 
dence of  it  should  we  seek  in  others,  as  a  prerequisite 
to  Christian  fellowship  ? 

I.  What  is  regeneration  9  I  hardly  need  tell  you, 
that  regeneration  and  being  born  again  are  synony- 
mous, —  the  former  being  a  word  of  Latin  derivation, 
equivalent  to  the  latter  in  Saxon  English.  The  idea 
is  that  of  a  second  birth.  There  are  various  orders  of 
beings,  that  are  born  twice.  The  butterfly  is  born  at 
first  a  caterpillar,  a  mere  earthworm,  an  unsightly, 
grovelling  creature,  without  any  apparent  means  of 
rising  higher  or  becoming  more  beautiful.     He  is  born 


REGENERATION. 


149 


again,  a  light,  airy,  beautiful  being,  with  wings  of  gold 
and  scarlet,  the  playmate  of  the  zephyrs.  Yet,  when 
you  examine  his  body,  it  is  still  the  caterpillar,  the 
earthworm,  though  etherealized,  —  the  same  shape, 
though  endowed  with  an  elasticity  and  beauty,  to  which 
before  it  was  an  utter  stranger.  And  so  likewise,  in 
the  caterpillar,  there  were  the  unseen  rudiments  of 
those  beautiful  wings,  —  the  power,  in  its  hidden  germ, 
of  that  graceful  flight.  Thus  his  new  birth  is  not  a 
change,  but  a  development,  of  his  nature,  —  not  a  new 
creation,  but  the  putting  forth  of  portions  of  his  being, 
previously  dormant.  Man,  too,  in  order  to  be  what 
God  means  that  he  should  be,  must  be  born  twice. 
For  he  is  at  first  born  merely  an  animal  being,  and  a 
child  of  earth,  —  with  powers,  that  fit  him  for  a  resi- 
dence here,  and  the  enjoyment  of  outward  and  earthly 
good,  —  with  propensities,  that  dispose  him  to  a  grovel- 
ling life,  without  any  aim  beyond  the  present  sphere  of 
being.  He  is  born  indeed  with  spiritual  capacities,  but 
they  are  like  the  caterpillar's  wings,  at  first  unseen, 
folded,  dormant  ;  and,  before  they  manifest  themselves 
at  all,  the  animal  nature  has  acquired  a  decided,  fearful 
preponderance  and  supremacy.  Thus,  when  the  spirit- 
ual nature  at  length  begins  to  put  forth,  it  generally 
finds  itself  overshadowed  and  dwarfed  by  the  animal, 
so  that  it  remains  altogether  subordinate,  verifying,  in 
him  who  has  been  born  but  once,  the  words  of  the 
wisdom  of  Solomon  :  '  The  corruptible  body  presseth 
down  the  soul,  and  the  earthly  tabernacle  weigheth 
down  the  mind  that  museth  upon  many  things.'  There- 
fore is  it  that  a  man  must  be  born  again,  —  born  into 
13* 


150  REGENERATION. 

the  spiritual  world,  —  born  again,  not  by  a  change,  but 
by  a  development  of  his  nature,  by  the  expanding  of 
those  wings  of  praise  and  prayer,  that  have  remained 
folded  and  unused,  by  his  entering  upon  a  new  sphere 
of  being,  and  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  unseen  and 
spiritual  world. 

At  the  butterfly's  first  birth,  his  ethereal  powers  and 
tendencies  are  bound  up,  and  crippled  by  the  terrestrial. 
By  his  second  birth,  the  ethereal  element  is  put  forth 
with  sufficient  vigor  to  buoy  up  and  etherealize  the 
terrestrial.  In  like  manner,  by  virtue  of  man's  first 
birth,  the  body  weighs  down  and  cramps  the  spiritual 
nature  ;  but,  by  the  second  birth,  the  spiritual  nature  is 
drawn  forth  with  an  energy  sufficient  to  subdue  and 
spiritualize  every  bodily  appetite  and  passion,  and  to 
make  the  body  a  willing  servant  of  the  soul.  '  That 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,'  earthly,  sensual  ; 
'  that  only,  which  is  born  of  the  spirit,  is  spirit.'  A 
spiritual  state  of  the  heart,  of  the  affections,  of  the 
conduct,  must  be  the  result  of  a  new  and  spiritual  birth, 
just  as  an  animal  and  earthly  life  is  the  result  of  the 
first  birth  of  a  human  being  into  the  outward  world. 
As,  by  being  born  of  the  flesh,  we  bear  the  image  of 
the  earthly,  so,  by  being  born  of  the  spirit,  must  we 
acquire  the  image  of  the  heavenly.  By  our  first  birth, 
the  animal  nature  has  and  keeps  the  supremacy  ;  regen- 
eration is  the  process,  by  which  the  spiritual  nature 
acquires  and  retains  the  supremacy.  By  virtue  of  our 
first  birth,  we  dwell  upon  the  earth,  and  are  adapted  to 
it  ;  by  regeneration,  we  enter  the  kingdom  of  God,  the 
spiritual  world,  and  are  fitted  for  its  society,  its  duties, 


REGENERATION.  151 

and  its  joys.  By  our  first  birth,  we  become  heirs  of 
the  infirmities  and  ills  of  a  mortal  life  ;  by  regeneration, 
we  acquire  the  powers  and  properties  of  an  immortal 
being. 

II.  We  next  ask  :  Is  regeneration  essential  to  every 
human  being  9  Can  none  but  the  regenerate  enter  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  Our  very  definition  of  regeneration 
answers  this  question  sufficiently.  '  Flesh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.'  For  what  is  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  It  is  a  society  of  all  good  and 
faithful  spirits,  bound  together  by  the  love  and  service 
of  the  Almighty.  It  is  a  kingdom,  whose  law  is  piety 
and  duty,  whose  life  is  prayer  and  praise.  It  is  a 
kingdom,  where  spiritual  relations  alone  are  recognized, 
where  all  dwell  as  children  of  God  and  brethren  in 
Christ.  Now  it  is  absurd  to  maintain  that  man,  any 
man,  is  born  into  this  outward  world,  with  powers, 
tastes,  and  habits,  that  fit  him  for  such  a  society.  It 
is  absurd  to  maintain  that  any  man  can  be  fitted  for 
this  society,  without  a  new  development  of  powers  and 
affections,  on  the  full  exercise  of  which  he  does  not 
enter  by  virtue  of  his  birth  into  the  outward  world. 

The  innocent  child  needs  to  be  born  again  ;  for  he 
brings  into  the  world,  not  indeed  a  sinful  nature,  but 
a  nature,  whose  better  part  unfolds  not  at  once.  And, 
in  order  for  him  to  become  fit  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  his  spiritual  nature  must  be  developed  and 
made  supreme,  which  it  is  not  in  infancy,  though  it 
may  be  in  early  childhood.  Perhaps  in  some  instances, 
but  seldom,  regeneration  is  the  result  of  education 
alone,  so  that  the  child's  first  choice  is  that  of  God, 


152  REGENERATION. 

and  duty,  and  spiritual  pursuits  and  pleasures,  and  his 
character,  from  the  earliest  period  of  his  moral  agency, 
is  a  religious  character.  I  say  that  this  is  probably  the 
case  but  seldom,  not  because  I  think  it  intrinsically 
unnatural.  On  the  other  hand,  I  regard  it  as  the 
natural  result  of  such  an  education,  as  a  child  ought  to 
have.  But  a  thoroughly  religious  education  has  no 
doubt  been  exceedingly  rare  ;  for,  of  religious  parents, 
there  are  too  many,  who  give  their  children  a  worldly 
education  ;  and,  w^hen  parents  do  all  that  they  ought 
and  can,  still  they  divide  the  education  of  their  children 
with  many  persons  and  influences  adverse  to  the  spiritual 
life.  For  these  reasons,  most  persons,  if  not  all,  live, 
for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  a  merely  animal  or 
worldly  life,  with  little  thought  of  spiritual  things,  with 
httle  taste  for  religious  pursuits  or  enjoyments.  And 
this  life,  however  harmless,  is  a  life  of  sin,  because 
passed  in  the  neglect  of  known  duty.  In  this  case, 
regeneration  is  a  double  process.  It  includes  a  pulling 
down,  as  well  as  a  building  up, — a  death  to  sin,  as 
well  as  a  spiritual  birth,  —  the  putting  off  of  the  old 
man,  as  well  as  the  putting  on  of  the  new  man,  — the 
dethroning  of  flesh  and  sense,  as  well  as  the  enthroning 
of  God  in  the  heart,  —  in  fine,  conversion,  an  entire 
change  of  character,  a  new  heart,  a  new  life.  The 
infant  needs  to  be  regenerated, — you  cannot  say  that 
he  needs  to  be  converted  ;  for,  if  not  probable,  it  is  at 
least  theoretically  possible,  that  his  regeneration  may 
be  effected  by  education  alone.  But  in  him,  who  has 
once  willingly  Hved,  for  however  short  a  season,  a 
merely  animal  or  worldly  life,  regeneration  can  take 
place  only  by  means  of  conversion. 


REGENERATION.  153 

But  how  is  it  with  those,  who  die  too  young  to  have 
formed  religious  characters  ?  They,  I  reply,  need 
regeneration,  as  much  as  if  they  had  lived  ;  for  they 
have  been  for  the  most  part  obedient  to  mere  bodily 
instincts,  and  they  die  with  their  spiritual  natures 
undeveloped.  They  have  indeed,  wrapped  within  their 
souls,  the  power  of  an  angelic  and  immortal  destiny  ; 
but  it  is  folded  and  dormant,  and  needs,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  fit  for  heaven,  to  be  expanded,  and  made 
quick,  powerful,  and  supreme.  But  the  infant  dies 
sinless.  He  has  no  unholy  desires,  no  evil  habits,  no 
unworthy  loves,  to  make  him  wretched  in  the  world 
whither  he  goes  ;  and  he  goes  where  no  fault,  or  error, 
or  negligence  in  his  education  can  render  his  regenera- 
tion doubtful,  or  make  sin  possible.  He  goes  into  the 
immediate  presence  of  a  Father,  whose  love  must  at 
once  pervade  and  fill  his  unoccupied  heart  ;  for  the 
innocent  need  only  to  know  God,  in  order  to  love  him. 
And  the  work  of  regeneration,  which,  in  the  world's 
imperfect  school,  it  might  have  taken  years  to  accom- 
plish, may  be  the  work  of  hours  or  moments  in  that 
higher  school,  where  Jesus  is  the  teacher. 

But  how  is  it  whh  virtuous  heathen,  who  have  been 
faithful  to  the  light  that  they  have  enjoyed,  but  have 
attained  so  inadequate  views  of  duty  and  of  divine  truth, 
that  their  characters  must  needs  fall  very  far  short  of 
that  of  the  regenerate  Christian  .''  I  answer,  that,  if 
they  have  governed  their  hearts  and  lives  by  the  best 
rules  of  duty  known  to  them,  their  regeneration  has 
commenced  , —  they  have  acquired  a  love  of  duty,  the 
habit  of  self-denial,  a  spiritual  frame  of  mind,  all  which 


154  REGENERATION. 

are  traits  of  the  regenerate  character.  They  have  the 
rectitude  and  singleness  of  purpose,  the  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness,  requisite  for  their  entrance 
into  the  Redeemer's  fold.  All  that  they  need,  to  bring 
them  to  the  stature  of  the  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus,  is 
religious  knowledge  ;  and  the  body  is  the  veil,  which 
hides  that  knowledge  from  them.  As  soon  as  the 
veil  is  rent  away,  they  behold  their  God  and  their 
Redeemer,  —  light  bursts  at  once  upon  their  disem- 
bodied spirits,  completes  their  regeneration,  and  thus 
fits  them  for  heaven. 

But,  not  only  those  of  preeminent  lustre  amidst 
surrounding  darkness,  not  only  those,  whom  we  are 
accustomed  to  call  the  great  and  good  men  of  heathen- 
ism,—  many,  very  many  others,  1  believe,  will  come 
from  the  east  and  the  west,  from  the  north  and  the 
south,  and  take  their  places  among  the  children  of  the 
kingdom, — yes,  literally  among  the  children  of  the 
kingdom,  in  the  place,  on  the  footing  of  little  children. 
While  my  own  conscience  tells  me,  that  if  I,  and  such 
as  I,  fail  to  clothe  ourselves  with  all  the  graces  of  the 
regenerate  heart,  we  shall  be  most  righteously  cast  into 
the  outer  darkness,  and,  whatever  we  suffer,  shall  know 
and  feel  that  God  is  just,  I  cannot  believe  that  those, 
who,  whether  in  heathen  or  in  Christian  lands,  have  not 
had  the  opportunity  of  religious  culture,  are  all  to"  forfeit 
heaven.  No.  I  believe  that  God  reveals  some  portion 
of  his  law  to  every  rational  being,  however  ignorant  or 
degraded.  I  believe  that  there  is  some  one  thing,  in 
which  those  altogether  born  in  sin  know  their  duty,  that 
there  is  one  talent  committed  even  to  the  least  privileged 


REGENERATION.  155 

of  the  race,  and  that,  if  that  one  talent  be  improved,  or 
that  one  duty  discharged,  the  opportunity  for  complete 
regeneration,  not  vouchsafed  to  them  on  earth,  may  be 
afforded  them  in  heaven.  The  keeping  of  the  law  in 
one  point,  if  that  one  be  the  only  point,  on  which  the 
law  is  known,  must  make  the  soul  willing  and  glad  to 
keep  the  whole  law,  when  the  whole  is  revealed. 
Wherever,  among  the  outcast  and  down-trodden  on 
pagan  or  Christian  soil,  among  those,  who  have  had 
around  them  only  depraved  examples  and  corrupt  influ- 
ences, with  not  a  ray  of  gospel  light  or  a  word  of 
Christian  teaching, — wherever,  I  say,  among  such, 
and  in  the  midst  of  heart-sickening  vice,  there  is  a 
single  beautiful  trait  of  character,  be  it  truth,  or  fidehty, 
or  sympathy,  or  compassion,  or  benevolence,  or  a  mere 
consciousness  of  degradation  and  misery,  a  vague,  yet 
earnest  longing  for  something  purer  and  better,  and  a 
preparation  of  soul  to  hail  the  light  if  it  should  come, — 
such  spirits,  I  believe,  are  among  those  to  whom  the 
Judge  will  say,  not,  '  Depart,  ye  cursed,'  but,  '  Come 
unto  me,  ye  weary  ones  and  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest.'  I  believe  that  such  spirits  need  only 
the  hght  of  heaven  to  regenerate  them,  while,  for  those 
who  have  buried  or  wasted  either  the  one  talent  or  the 
ten,  there  can  be  reserved  only  the  doom  of  the  wicked 
and  slothful  servant.  Certainly  there  is,  there  must  be 
in  the  judgment,  a  world-wide  difi'erence  between  those, 
to  whom  the  Judge  can  say,  '  Ye  have  both  seen  and 
hated  both  me  and  my  Father,'  and  those,  who  had 
not  the  offer  of  salvation  distinctly  made  to  them,  but 
who  would  have  leaped  with  joy,  had  it  reached  them. 


156  REGENERATION. 

I  should  be  sony  to  think  that  1  have  a  single 
hearer,  so  much  a  stranger  to  the  love  of  God  and 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  as  to  deem  me  a  setter-forth  of 
lax  and  dangerous  doctrines,  because  I  can,  in  deep 
and  thankful  sincerity,  lay  up  a  hope  in  heaven  for 
those,  to  whom  on  earth  no  door  of  hope  is  opened. 
It  is  no  lax  doctrine  for  us.  The  law,  that,  where 
much  is  given,  much  will  be  required,  but  that,  where 
httle  is  bestowed,  little  will  be  demanded,  is  a  law  of 
uncompromising  strictness  and  severity  for  you  and 
me,  who  have  known  only  the  clear  sunlight  of  gospel 
privilege.  No  one  can  place  higher  than  I  would,  the 
responsibilities  of  those,  who  have  the  means  of  knowing 
Christ.  But  I  earnestly  protest  against  making  the 
harsh  and  gloomy  views,  that  one  may  take  with  regard 
to  the  unprivileged  and  benighted,  a  standard  of  piety. 
To  the  shame  of  Christians,  this  is  often  done  ;  and  I 
have  known  the  piety  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  called 
in  question,  for  no  other  reason,  than  that  they  main- 
tained that  the  heathen  would  not  be  cast  in  a  body  into 
everlasting  torments.  I  should  be  half  disposed  to  hurl 
back  the  accusation,  were  it  not  written,  '  Judge  not, 
that  ye  be  not  judged  ; '  for  I  cannot  but  feel  that  the 
man,  who  cherishes  such  sentiments,  and  myself,  believe 
and  worship  two  entirely  different  Gods. 

III.  We  next  inquire.  Is  regeneration  instantaneous, 
or  gradual  ?  To  man's  eye,  it  must  generally  appear 
gradual ;  for  the  influences,  which  God  commonly 
employs  to  convert  the  soul,  are  gradual.  Our  Saviour 
also  compares  the  growth  of  rehgion  in  the  heart  of 
man  to  the  growth  of  grain,  '  first  the  blade,  then  the 


REGENERATION.  157 

ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.'  No  doubt, 
many  of  what  are  called  sudden  conversions  are 
gradual,  (indeed,  most  of  the  cases  of  that  kind, 
with  which  I  have  been  conversant,  have  been  so,) 
the  particular  event,  or  season  of  excitement,  to 
which  they  are  ascribed,  being  the  occasion,  rather 
than  the  cause  of  their  development.  In  such  cases, 
there  has  been  a  long  series  of  unseen  struggles, 
suppressed  groanings,  secret  penitential  regrets,  heart- 
felt aspirations  for  holiness  ;  and  the  religious  char- 
acter, which  shoots  up  before  man's  sight  with  ap- 
parent suddenness,  to  the  divine  eye  is  the  growth 
of  months  or  years.  The  phenomena  of  such  a  con- 
version, (if  we  may  compare  joyful  things  with  fear- 
ful,) might  be  likened  to  the  eruption  of  a  volcano, 
which,  to  the  ignorant  beholder,  seems  sudden,  but  to 
effect  which,  subterranean  fires  may  have  been  burning 
for  a  century.  But  there  are  undoubtedly  other  cases, 
in  which  regeneration  is  really  a  very  rapid  process,  — 
in  which  an  immense  amount  of  inward  emotion  and 
effort  is  crowded  into  an  exceedingly  brief  period. 
God's  convicting  and  converting  spirit  sometimes 
seems  to  fall  like  lightning  from  the  heavens.  We 
have  seen  those,  who  have  professed,  and  seemed, 
to  come  at  once  out  of  midnight  darkness  into  God's 
marvellous  light.  Yet,  in  most  instances,  and,  as 
I  cannot  but  think,  in  the  most  hopeful  cases,  the 
dawn  first  reddens,  and  the  day-star  rises,  and  the  sky 
becomes  bright  and  beautiful  so  gradually,  that  one 
can  hardly  say  when  night  gives  place  to  day. 

In   all   cases,    however,  there  is,  doubtless,  to  the 
14 


158  REGENERATION. 

divine  eye,  a  moment  when  the  new  birth  takes  place, 
when  the  scale  turns,  when  the  natural  man  loses, 
and  the  spiritual  man  gains  the  supremacy,  when 
duty,  piety,  and  heaven,  assume  the  mastery  over 
meaner  passions  and  affections.  The  character  always 
has  for  its  index  the  ruling  love,  —  the  predominant 
aim,  desire,  or  purpose,  —  the  one  master  principle, 
which  gives,  as  it  were,  the  key-note  to  the  whole 
life.  Now  a  literal  equipoise  of  the  character,  for 
more  than  a  single  moment,  is  hardly  possible.  The 
character  must,  at  every  moment  of  a  man's  exist- 
ence, (even  if  the  preponderance  be  slight,)  be  either 
worldly  or  spiritual  ;  and,  though  a  man  may  not  be 
able  to  mark  for  himself  the  moment  when  the  scale 
turns, — though,  when  he  undertakes  to  determine  it, 
he  may  antedate  or  postdate  it,  — yet  it  can  hardly  be 
otherwise  than  a  moment  distinctly  marked  by  the 
divine  eye. 

IV.  Our  next  question  is  :  Is  regeneration  an  indel- 
ible process ;  or  can  those ,  who  have  been  born  again^ 
so  far  fall  back  into  sinful  habits^  as  to  forfeit  the 
blessings  of  the  Christian  covenant  9  To  this  question  I 
would  reply,  that  the  regenerate  state  is  in  itself  a 
most  hopeful  one,  and  that  it  includes  within  itself 
great  prospect  and  promise  of  perseverance,  and  even 
abundant  reason  to  expect  restoration  from  the  first 
stages  of  declension  and  backsliding.  The  change 
of  character,  which  it  implies,  is  a  truly  momentous 
one.  The  heart  is  new  ;  the  life  is  new.  The  regen- 
erate person  has  entered  upon  a  new  and  attractive 
sphere  of  being,  —  has  joined  himself  to  a  society, 
which  can  hardly  fail  to   draw   him  constantly  heaven- 


REGENERATION.  159 

ward,  —  has  commenced  the  discharge  of  duties, 
which  are  sanctifying  in  their  very  nature,  —  has 
begun  to  enjoy  pleasures,  which  never  cloy,  but 
which  sustain  the  constant  desire  to  seek  them  yet 
again.  The  regenerate  person  has  of  course  begun  to 
lead  a  life  of  prayer  ;  and  there  is  abundant  ground 
for  the  hope,  that  he,  who  has  felt  the  comfort  and 
joy  of  prayer,  will  not  abandon  it,  and,  while  he 
still  maintains  the  habit  of  prayer,  he  cannot  fall  back 
into  a  life  of  sin.  The  regenerate  person  has  learned 
to  look  at  objects,  events,  and  his  fellow  beings,  in 
their  spiritual  relations  and  aspects  ;  and  points  of 
view  once  acquired  we  do  not  readily  lose,  so  that 
there  is  strong  hope  that  he,  the  eyes  of  whose  under- 
standing have  once  been  opened,  will  not  close  them 
again.  Above  all,  the  regenerate  person  is  the  sub- 
ject of  peculiar  aid  and  guidance  from  above,  which 
will  not  be  lightly  or  capriciously  withdrawn,  but  can 
be  forfeited  only  by  long  continued  negligence.  And, 
even  when  the  regenerate  person  has  once  departed 
widely  from  the  Christian  covenant,  or  begun  to  wax 
cold  and  careless,  he  has,  in  his  past  experience  of 
the  blessedness  of  God's  service,  remembrances  to 
smite  him  through  with  godly  sorrow,  and  to  call  him 
back  to  the  fold,  from  which  he  is  wandering.  There 
will  be,  in  the  recollection  of  times  of  perfect  religious 
peace  and  reconciliation,  a  voice  breathing  the  senti- 
of  our  beautiful  hymn  :  — 

*  What  peaceful  hours  T  once  enjoyed  ! 

IIow  sweet  their  memory  still  ! 
But  they  have  left  an  aching  void 

The  world  can  never  fill.' 


160  REGENERATION. 

And,  stung  with  the  memory  of  a  peace  once  his,  now 
shut  out  from  his  soul,  there  is  hope  that  he  will  lift 
the  cry  :  — 

'  Return,  O  holy  Dove,  return, 

Sweet  messenger  of  rest  ; 
I  hate  the  sins  that  made  thee  mourn, 

And  drove  thee  from  my  breast. 

*  The  dearest  idol  I  have  known, 

Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne. 

And  worship  only  thee.' 

Thus  true  is  the  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints  to  our  reasonable  hope,  with  regard  to  those, 
who  have  once  been  inwardly  renewed.  But  this 
doctrine,  as  a  positive,  arbitrary,  unbending  dogma, 
without  abatement  or  exception,  is  false,  ensnaring, 
and  dangerous.  It  is  opposed  to  reason,  experience, 
and  Scripture  ;  and,  by  creating  a  fatal  consciousness 
of  security,  it  does  more  than  anything  else  can,  to 
make  itself  false  in  individual  cases.  Very  many  fall, 
because  they  feel  so  sure  that  they  can  nev^er  fall. 
Very  many  continue  in  sin,  because  they  know  that 
they  have  once  been  regenerated,  and  they  feel  assured 
that,  whatever  they  do,  they  cannot  fail  of  heavenly 
blessedness.  But  there  is  nothing  in  the  religious 
character  to  make  it  intrinsically  ineffaceable.  As  it 
can  be  kept  strong  and  growing  only  by  exercise  unto 
godliness,  so  it  may  be  frittered  away  by  lack  of 
exercise. 

Moreover,   the    Scriptures  refer  so  often  to  the  pos- 
sibility of  apostacy  on  the  part  of  the  regenerate,  that 


REGENERATION.  161 

it  fills  me  with  unfeigned  surprise,  that  it  should  ever 
have  been  regarded  as  impossible,  by  any,  who  profess 
to  take  the  Bible  for  their  standard  of  doctrine.  How 
constantly  are  the  saints  exhorted  to  steadfastness  and 
perseverance,  all  which  exhortations  are  foolish  and 
absurd,  if  the  saints  cannot  fall  away.  St.  Paul 
could  surely  have  had  no  doubt  of  his  own  regenera- 
tion ;  and  yet  he  speaks  of  his  diligent  self-discipline 
and  mortification  of  the  flesh,  —  '  lest  that  by  any 
means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself 
should  be  a  cast-away.'*  St.  Paul  is  addressing  re- 
generate persons,  when  he  says,  '  Grieve  not  the  holy 
spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption.'!  The  writer  to  the  Hebrews,  so  far 
from  saying  that  the  regenerate  cannot  fall  away,  ex- 
pressly speaks  of  the  impossibility,  ( by  which  we  are 
to  understand,  1  suppose,  the  extremest  difficulty,)  of 
renewing  again  unto  repentance  those  who  fall  away, 
after  they  have  been  '  once  enlightened,  and  have 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  have  been  made 
partakers  of  the  holy  spirit,  and  have  tasted  of  the 
good  word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come. 'J 

V.  We  now  arrive  at  the  question  :  By  ichat 
agency  is  regeneration  effected  ?  By  God's,  or  man's  ? 
I  reply,  by  both.  The  true  doctrine  is  implied  in 
that  text  of  St.  Paul  :  "  Work  out  your  own  salvation 
with  fear  and  trembling  ;  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in 
you  both  to   will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure. '§     It 

*  1  Corinthians  ix.  27.  t  Ephesians  iv.  30. 

t  Hebrews  vi.  4-6.  §  Philippians  ii.  12,  13. 

14* 


162  REGENERATION. 

used  to  be  a  mooted  question  in  theology,  whether 
God  or  man  must  take  the  first  step  in  man's  regen- 
eration. But  it  is  almost  too  foolish  a  question  to 
discuss,  and  one,  which  a  child  ought  to  be  able  to 
answer  from  his  first  catechism.  For  has  not  God 
himself,  by  his  own  infinite  mercy,  forever  barred  out 
such  an  inquiry  as  this  ?  Has  he  not  drawn  nigh  to 
us,  from  the  very  dawn  of  our  moral  being,  in  the 
countless  blessings  and  healing  sorrows  of  his  provi- 
idence,  —  in  the  religious  aspects  and  voices  of  na- 
ture, —  in  the  teachings,  warnings,  promises  of  the 
gospel,  —  in  the  example,  the  love,  the  reconcihng 
blood  of  Christ,  —  in  secret  visitings  of  his  spirit, 
which  we  all  have  felt,  which  we  cannot  escape  or 
shut  out,  and  in  which,  in  what  countless  instances  has 
he  verified  to  each  of  our  hearts  the  words,  '  Behold, 
I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock  !  '  Yes.  And  in  every 
step  that  we  take  on  the  path  to  eternal  life,  is  the 
Father  with  us,  keeping  our  feet  from  falling,  and  our 
souls  from  death.  We  enter  the  outward  world,  and 
gain  bodily  strength  and  vigor,  only  because  in  him  we 
live,  and  move,  and  have  our  being,  —  because  he  sus- 
tains this  marvellous  machine  in  tension  and  activity, 
keeps  in  tune  the  harp  of  thousand  strings,  supplies 
nature's  waste  from  his  own  fountain  of  life,  propels 
the  warm  current  through  every  limb  and  every  vein. 
Equally,  it  seems  to  me,  does  the  soul's  true  life  flow 
unceasingly  from  him.  From  him  proceed  all  holy 
desires,  good  counsels,  and  just  works.  His  working 
in  us  is  the  essential  condition  of  our  spiritual  health 
and  activity. 


REGENERATION.  163 

Yet,  in  regeneration,  our  will  must  consent  with  his. 
There  nnust  be  a  determined  choice  and  effort  on  our 
part.  The  vows  of  penitence,  the  meditations  on  our 
Father's  and  our  Saviour's  love,  the  holy  resolutions, 
the  heavenward  strivings,  by  which  we  are  to  be  born 
again,  must  flow  from  our  own  free  will  and  purpose  ; 
nor  can  we  be  inwardly  renewed,  without  our  own  ear- 
nest and  diligent  effort,  our  own  voluntary  prayers,  our 
own  free-will  offering,  and  cheerful,  wdiole-hearted  con- 
secration of  body,  soul,  and  life  to  our  Master's  ser- 
vice. Aid  from  God  we  shall  indeed  have,  and  must 
have,  at  every  step.  It  will  be  in  the  strength  that  he 
gives  us,  that  we  shall  endure  and  conquer.  But  God's 
aid,  essential  and  powerful  as  it  is  in  the  spiritual  life, 
is  not  irresistible.  God  helps  us,  as  a  judicious  father 
helps  a  child,  whom  he  is  unwilling  to  control,  while  he 
earnestly  desires  that  he  should  decide  and  act  rightly. 
Such  a  father  gives  his  son  kind  advice,  surrounds  him 
with  good  examples  and  influences,  furnishes  him  with 
the  best  materials  of  judgment  ;  but  still  the  son  may, 
from  waywardness  or  passion,  decide  and  act  contrary 
to  the  father's  wishes.  Of  this  nature  are  the  influ- 
ences of  the  divine  spirit  for  man's  regeneration,  — 
influences,  which  may  be  grieved  and  quenched,  or 
which  may  be  made  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  everlasting 
life. 

VI.  We  next  ask  :  What  evidences  of  regeneration 
in  ourselves  ought  we  to  deem  sufficient  9  This  ques- 
tion it  is  the  object  of  so  much  of  ray  preaching  to 
answer,  that  I  the  less  regret  the  narrow  space,  in 
which  it  must   be  answered  now.     In  general  terms, 


164  REGENERATION. 

spirituality  of  character  is  the  sign  that  we  have  been 
born  again.  '  That  which  is  born  of  the  spirit,  is 
spirit.'  If  we  are  regenerated,  we  shall  look  at  things 
in  their  spiritual  aspects  ;  and  shall  regard  our  spiritual 
relations  and  duties  as  of  paramount  importance.  We 
shall  delight  in  prayer.  We  shall  habitually  feel  the 
presence  of  God,  and  shall  refer  our  thoughts,  words, 
and  deeds,  to  his  will  and  law,  as  to  their  only  standard. 
Religious  subjects,  duties,  and  services,  will  always  be 
welcome,  and  never  a  weariness  or  a  burden.  But  the 
supreme  law  of  the  spiritual  life  is  love,  —  love  to  God, 
—  love  to  every  child  of  God,  —  love  to  God  with  the 
heart  and  soul,  the  mind  and  strength,  —  love  to  man, 
tender,  constant,  forbearing,  forgiving,  ready  to  impart, 
glad  to  bless,  rejoicing  v^'ith  the  happy,  sympathizing 
with  the  afflicted,  showing  mercy  to  all. 

In  the  regenerate  life  also,  we  are  united  to  Christ, 
as  the  branch  to  the  vine.  Our  virtues  grow  from  his. 
Our  spiritual  graces  twine  themselves  about  him  as  their 
tree  of  life.  There  is  a  conscious  reception  of  light 
and  aid  from  his  example  and  his  spirit.  We  shall  be 
able  to  say  of  this  sin,  '  I  have  striven  against  it,  be- 
cause my  Master  forbade  it  ; '  and  of  that  virtue,  '  I 
have  labored  to  acquire  it,  because  I  found  it  in  the 
Lord  Jesus;'  and  of  our  general  tone  of  character  and 
habits  of  life,  '  I  am  what  I  am,  because  I  have  been 
with  Jesus,  and  learned  of  him,  and  humbly  striven  to 
follow  him  in  all  things.' 

These  hints  may  supply  heads  of  self-examination, 
which  I  have  not  time  to  draw  out  as  I  could  wish  ; 
and  they  must  needs  recal  to  my  stated  hearers  the 
t 


« 

REGENERATION.  165 

tests  of  Christian  character,  which  they  are  wont  to 
hear  set  forth  from  this  pulpit. 

VII.  I  hasten  to  our  closing  inquiry.  What  evi- 
dence of  regeneration  should  we  seek  in  others,  as  a 
prerequisite  to  Christian  fellowship  9  None  but  the 
all-seeing  God  can  tell  with  certainty,  who  are  the 
regenerate,  and  who  the  unsanctified.  In  the  Christian 
church,  the  wheat  and  the  tares  must  grow  together  till 
the  harvest.  Therefore,  while,  in  judging  of  our  own 
spiritual  state,  we  should  make  our  standard  of  Chris- 
tian character  as  high  as  possible,  in  determining  with 
whom  we  will  hold  Christian  fellowship,  we  should  so 
shape  it,  as  to  include  even  '  the  least  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.'  By  making  our  terms  of  fellowship  thus 
broad,  we  may  indeed  embrace  some,  w^hose  names 
are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  ;  but  we  had  better 
treat  as  Christian  brethren  ten  false  pretenders  to  the 
name,  than  reject  one,  whom  Christ  has  received. 

Let  us  beware  how  we  make  our  own  creed,  or 
ritual,  or  views  of  duty  on  any  points  that  admit  of 
question,  a  standard  for  our  brethren.  On  these 
points  we  are  as  liable  to  err  as  they  are  ;  and  they 
have  the  same  right  to  condemn  us,  that  we  have  to 
condemn  them.  But  there  are  two  things,  which  we 
may  expect  to  find  in  the  subjects  of  Christian  regen- 
eration, and  the  lack  of  either  of  which  would  compel 
us,  however  reluctantly,  to  doubt  the  Christian  char- 
acter of  one,  who  on  any  ground  sought  to  be  recog- 
nized as  a  Christian.  One  of  these  relates  to  profes- 
sion ;  the  other  to  practice. 

1.   The  first  is   a  willingness  to  own  Christ  as  an 


166  REGENERATION. 

authoritative  teacher,  and  as  the  one  appointed  Me- 
diator, between  God  and  man,  and,  as  a  consequence  of 
this,  habitual  reverence  for  his  name,  his  gospel,  and 
everything  that  he  has  made  sacred.  Christian  fellow- 
ship is  a  fellowship  in  Christ,  and  not  out  of  him.  If, 
therefore,  he  be  disowned,  his  name  blasphemed,  and 
his  gospel  set  at  nought,  by  any  men  of  virtuous  life 
and  conversation,  we  may  and  should  give  them  full 
credit  for  whatever  virtues  they  manifest,  and  whatever 
good  they  do ;  but  it  is  absurd  to  think  of  them  as  sub- 
jects for  Christian  fellowship.  Were  we,  on  account 
of  their  good  lives,  to  call  them  Christians,  we  should 
be  conferring  a  name,  which  is  not  ours  to  give,  but 
can  be  given  only  to  those,  for  whom  it  is  appointed  by 
the  Father  ;  and  he  surely  cannot  have  appointed  it 
for  any,  by  whom  it  is  despised  or  undervalued. 

2.  The  other  essential  prerequisite  to  Christian 
recognition,  is  a  general  outward  conformity  to  the  un- 
questioned rules  of  duty,  —  a  generally  virtuous  life 
and  conversation.  We  are  not  to  look  for  perfection 
in  others,  while  we  are  conscious  of  falling  far  short  of 
it  ourselves.  But  we  may  expect  in  those,  who  are 
renewed  through  the  grace  of  Christ,  some  good  degree 
of  conformity  to  his  image  and  spirit. 

But,  after  all,  the  best  rule  is,  for  us  to  be  as  close 
and  thorough  as  we  can  be,  in  the  judgment  of  our 
own  hearts  ;  but  always  to  bring  to  the  judgment  of 
another's  character  that  charity,  which  '■  thinketh  no 
evil,  believeth  all  things,  and  hopeth  all  things.' 

I  trust  that  this  discussion,  though  in  the  form  of  a 
doctrinal  exposition,  may  not  pass,  without  leading  my 


REGENERATION.  107 

hearers  to  diligent  self-examination  as  to  the  momen- 
tous question  of  their  own  regeneration.  Of  this  ques- 
tion, my  friends,  nothing  can  take  precedence.  The 
time  is  hastening  on  for  each  of  us,  and  for  some  is 
douhtless  near,  when  it  will  be  echoed  in  the  thunder- 
tones  of  approaching  death.  Let  it  be  put  and  an- 
swered by  each  of  us  before  he  sleeps  ;  and,  whatever 
our  amiable  traits  of  character,  whatever  our  endow- 
ments of  mind  and  heart,  if  not  sanctified  by  Christian 
faith  and  the  spirit  of  self-consecration,  let  us  hear,  as 
from  the  lips  of  him,  whose  words  are  God's  eternal 
truth,  '  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God.' 


LECTURE   VII. 


THE  ATONEMENT. 

2  CORINTHIANS  V.   18,  19. 

THE  MINISTRY  OF  RECONCILIATION,  TO  WIT,  THAT  GOD  WAS  IN  CHRIST, 
RECONCILING  THE  WORLD  UNTO  HIMSELF. 

The  atonement  will  be  the  subject  of  the  two 
remaining  lectures  of  this  course.  I  coinnaence  with  a 
few  remarks  on  the  word  atonement^  and  its  use  in  the 
Scriptures.  Atonement  is  at-one-ment,  reconciliation, 
the  bringing  together,  or  at  one,  of  those  who  have 
been  at  variance.  It  is  a  word  employed  but  once  in 
our  translation  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  that  is  in 
the  following  passage  :  '  If,  when  we  were  enemies,  we 
were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son,  much 
more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life. 
And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received 
the  atonement y^  that  is,  the  reconciliation  just  spoken 
of.*  The  same  Greek  word  occurs  elsewhere,  but  is 
rendered  reconciliation.  It  is  the  word  so  rendered  in 
our  text.     The  word  atonement  is  often  used  in  our 

*  Romans  v.  10,  11. 

15 


170  THE    ATONEMENT. 

translation  of  the  Old  Testarnerjt  ;  but  there  it  simply 
means  ritual  purification^  and  can  have  no  reference 
to  reconciliation  between  God  and  man,  since  atonement 
is  said  to  have  been  made  for  inanimate  objects,  as  for 
the  altar,  and  for  a  house  infected  with  leprosy.  .The 
Hebff^w  word  rendered  to  atone^  denotes  to  cover  or 
smear  over  ;  and  it  no  doubt  came  to  imply  purification, 
from  the  ceremonial  smearing  of  the  persons  or  things 
purified,  with  oil  or  with  blood. 

Atonement,  reconciliation  between  God  and  man, 
through  Christ,  through  his  death,  is  the  doctrine  of  all 
Christian  believers.  The  question  at  issue  is,  Which 
party  did  Christ  reconcile  to  the  other,  —  God  to  man, 
or  man  to  God  f  Some  suppose  that  Christ  died  to 
reconcile  God  to  man,  to  appease  the  divine  wrath, 
to  make  God  willinfj  or  able  to  forgive  man's  2uilt. 
Others  maintain  that  God  never  was.  and  never  can  be 
alienated  from  his  human  family,  so  as  to  need  atone- 
ment ;  but  that  it  is  man,  alienated  from  God  by  sin, 
that  needs  and  receives  the  atonement,  and  that  Christ 
lived  and  died  to  reconcile  guilty  man  to  a  Father  of 
unchangeable  love.  The  latter  is  the  view,  which  you 
have  always  heard  from  this  pulpit.  The  former  is  the 
theory  of  that  branch  of  the  church  called  Calvinistic. 
The  Calvinistic  doctrine,  stated  more  in  detail,  is  this. 
God  has  affixed  to  every  sin,  nay,  td  original  sin  de- 
rived from  Adam,  the  penalty  of  eternal  torments. 
God's  justice  forbids  hirn  to  forgive  man's  iniquity, 
unless  this  penalty  be  in  some  way  satisfied.  Christ 
interposed,  and  took  upon  himself  the  weight  of  agony 
and  torment,  which  those  who  are  forgiven  would  other- 


THE     ATONEMENT.  171 

wise  have  borne,  and,  because  he  thus  suffered  in  their 
stead,  they  go  clear.  This  doctrine,  with  shght  modi- 
fications, is  held  by  the  majority  of  our  Christian  public. 
One  of  these  modifications  introduces  the  idea  of  impu- 
ted righteousness,  maintaining  that,  as  men,  though  per- 
sonally guiltless,  are  made  sinners  by  the  imputation  of 
Adam's  guilt,  so  those,  who  are  saved,  though  person- 
ally destitute  of  holiness,  are  made  holy  by  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  imputed  to  them.  This  is  a  notion 
so  opposed  to  common  sense,  so  self-contradictory  in 
its  terms,  and  so  generally  laid  aside  by  its  former  ad- 
vocates, as  to  claim  only  the  most  cursory  notice. 
Another  modification  of  the  popular  doctrine  is,  that, 
though  Christ  may  not  have  suflJered  the  full  amount  of 
what  was  due  to  man's  guilt,  yet  what  he  suffered  was 
accepted  by  the  Father  as  a  full  equivalent  for  what 
man  ought  to  have  suffered.  But  the  main  idea  of  this 
doctrine,  in  all  its  modifications,  is  substitution^  vicari- 
ousness,  one's  standing  in  another's  stead,  and  bearing 
what  he  ought  to  have  borne. 

The  first  remark  to  be  made  upon  this  doctrine  is, 
that  it  is  nowhere  distinctly  stated  in  the  Scriptures. 
This  its  advocates  admit.  They  maintain  that  it  is 
strongly  implied  in  several  scattered  texts  in  the  apos- 
tolic epistles,  and  in  one  or  two  in  the  prophet  Isaiah. 
But  is  it  conceivable  that  a  doctrine  of  such  infinite 
moment  should  not  have  been  explicitly  stated  in  the 
Bible  ?  It  is,  1  think,  admitted  on  all  sides,  that  a  vi- 
carious atonement  was  not  distinctly  taught  by  our 
Saviour  in  any  of  his  recorded  discourses,  and  that, 
when  he  died,  his  immediate  followers  were  as  ignorant 


172  THE    ATONEMENT. 

of  the  purpose  of  his  death,  as  they  were  at  his  nativ- 
ity. But  why  was  this  ?  He  often  spoke  of  his  ap- 
proaching dissolution  ;  why  did  he  make  no  disclosure 
of  its  purpose  ?  By  the  statements,  which  he  did  make, 
he  manifestly  failed  to  reconcile  his  disciples  to  his  de- 
parture from  them  ;  but,  had  he  once  told  them  that 
God  could  not  pardon  the  penitent  without  his  dying, 
they  would  have  understood  that  it  was  expedient  for 
them  that  he  should  go  away.  Nor  yet  does  our  Sa- 
viour make  any  additional  disclosure  on  this  point  after 
his  resurrection. 

The  vicarious  atonement,  one  would  suppose,  must 
have  formed,  if  true,  an  essential  part  of  the  preaching 
of  the  apostles.  But,  in  the  discourses  preached  by 
Peter  and  Paul  to  congregations,  that  were  listening  to 
Christian  instruction  for  the  first  time,  we  find  not  a 
word  of  this  doctrine,  now  regarded  by  so  many  as  the 
cardinal  point  of  the  gospel  scheme.  Yet,  through  these 
discourses,  converts  were  made  by  thousands  ;  and 
these,  not  converts  of  an  hour,  but  such  as  '  continued 
steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship.' 

Equally  little  do  we  find  of  this  doctrine  in  the 
writings  of  the  Christian  fathers  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies. The  idea  of  substitution,  or  of  a  price  paid  to 
appease  the  divine  justice,  cannot  be  traced  in  any  of 
their  works  now  extant,  though  among  these  works  are 
creeds,  defences,  apologies,  and  avowed  statements  of 
the  whole  Christian  system.  This  fact  is  admitted,  and 
referred  to  with  surprise,  by  orthodox  commentators 
upon  the  writings  of  the  fathers.  Flacius,  a  learned 
pupil  of  Luther,  says   that  the  Christian  writers  of  the 


THE     ATONEMENT.  173 

primitive  age  '  discoursed,  like  philosophers,  of  the  law, 
and  its  moral  precepts,  and  of  the  nature  of  virtue  and 
vice  ;  but  they  were  totally  ignorant  of  man's  natural 
corruption,  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel,  and  Christ's 
merits.'  The  same  writer,  speaking  of  Eusebius,  the 
ecclesiastical  historian,  (who  flourished  early  in  the 
fourth  century,  and  than  whom  none  stood  higher  in  the 
church  on  the  score  of  learning  or  authority,)  says:  '  It 
is  a  very  low  and  imperfect  description,  which  he  gives 
of  a  Christian,  making  him  only  a  man,  who,  by  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  and  his  doctrine,  is  brought  to  the 
worship  of  the  one  true  God,  and  the  practice  of  sobri- 
ety, righteousness,  patience,  and  other  virtues.  But  he 
has  not  a  word  about  iniputed  righteousness.'  I  cannot 
forbear  quoting  the  well-merited  and  delicate  irony, 
with  which  Lardner  dismisses  these  passages  from  Fla- 
cius.  '  Poor,  ignorant  primitive  Christians,  I  wonder 
how  they  could  find  the  way  to  heaven.  They  lived 
near  the  time  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  They  highly 
valued,  and  diligently  read  the  holy  Scriptures,  and 
some  of  them  wrote  commentaries  upon  them  ;  but 
yet,  it  seems,  they  knew  little  or  nothing  of  their 
religion,  though  they  embraced  and  professed  it  with 
the  manifest  hazard  of  all  earthly  good  things  ;  and 
many  of  them  laid  down  their  lives,  rather  than  re- 
nounce it.' 

These   considerations  certainly  furnish  a  strong  pre- 
sumption against  the  doctrine  under  discussion,  yet  can- 
not be  regarded  as  conclusive  ;  for  they  have  been  ad- 
mitted by  its  most  intelligent  advocates  and  defenders. 
15* 


174  THE    ATONEMENT. 

Let  us  then  analyze  the  doctrine,  and  see  on  what  foun- 
dation it  rests. 

It  assumes  for  its  basis  the  position,  that  God's  law 
annexes  eternal  punishment  to  every  sin,  without  refer- 
ence to  the  repentance  or  reformation  of  the  sinner. 
This  is  an  idea  wholly  unsustained  by  Scripture,  and 
supported  mainly  by  fragments  of  texts,  which,  quoted 
entire,  would  imply  the  opposite  doctrine.  It  is  stated 
as  the  stern,  unbending  law  of  God's  revealed  word, 
'  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.'  This  is  indeed  a 
part  of  the  law  as  revealed  through  Ezekiel.  But  the 
prophet  adds  :  '  But  if  the  wicked  will  turn  from  all 
his  sins  that  he  hath  committed,  and  keep  all  my  stat- 
utes, and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall 
surely  live,  he  shall  not  die.  All  his  transgressions 
that  he  hath  committed,  they  shall  not  be  mentioned 
unto  him  :  in  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done  he 
shall  live.  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that  the  wicked 
should  die  ?  saith  the  Lord  God  :  and  not  that  he 
should  return  from  his  ways,  and  live  ?'*  Now  I  am 
utterly  unable  to  discern  the  propriety,  or  the  honesty  of 
quoting  the  first  portion  of  this  passage,  as  the  eternal 
moral  law  of  God,  and  omitting  the  latter  part.  All 
through  the  Old  Testament,  the  promise  of  pardon  to 
the  penitent  is  connected  with  the  denunciation  of  pun- 
ishment against  the  sinner.  '  If  they  shall  confess 
their  iniquity,  then  will  I  remember  my  covenant,'  was 
God's  uniform  declaration  to  the  nation  of  Israel.  The 
whole  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament  towards  sinners  is 

*  Ezekiel  xviii.  20-23. 


THE     ATONEMENT.  175 

expressed  in  these  words  of  God  through  Ezekiel  : 
'  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  Thou  shalt  surely  die  ; 
if  he  turn  from  his  sin,  and  do  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right  ;  if  the  wicked  restore  the  pledge,  give  again  that 
he  had  robbed,  walk  in  the  statutes  of  life,  without 
committing  iniquity  :  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not 
die.'*  Is  it  said  that  this  law  of  pardon  had  reference 
to  the  intended  sacrifice  of  Christ,  —  to  '  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ?  '  This  is  an 
entirely  gratuitous  assumption,  not  only  unsustained  by 
Scripture,  but  opposed  to  certain  very  plain  declara- 
tions of  the  New  Testament,  which  represent  Christ's 
mission  as  the  consequence^  not  the  cause,  of  God^s 
forgiving  mercy.  Such  are  these  texts,  which  might 
be  multiphed  indefinitely.  '  God  so  loved  the  world  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'f 
'  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins. 'J  '  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself.^  ^ 

But  it  is  maintained  that  divine  justice  forbids  the 
pardon  of  the  penitent.  Now,  by  justice  as  applied  to 
God,  we  either  mean  some  attribute,  of  which  we  have 
no  knowledge  ;  or  else  we  mean  the  same  attribute, 
which  we  denominate  justice  between  man  and  man. 
If  the  former,  then  whatever  we  affirm  or  deny  with 
regard  to  the  divine  justice  is  mere  haphazard  assertion, 
and  one  assertion  is  as  good  as  another.     But  to  my 

*  Ezekiel  xxxiii.  14,  15.  t  John  iii.  16. 

t  1  John  iv.  10.  §  2  Corinthians  v.  19. 


176  THE    ATONEMENT. 

mind  nothing  is  more  certain  than  this,  —  that,  when 
God  reveals  himself  to  mankind  as  merciful,  and 
holy,  and  just,  he  means,  that  he  is  possessed  of  those 
attributes,  which  all  men  designate,  and  which  good 
men  cherish  and  practice,  as  mercy,  holiness,  and 
justice.  Now  let  me  put  the  question  to  your  hearts 
and  consciences,  is  it  unjust  to  forgive  the  wrong-doer, 
when  he  repents  ?  If  my  neighbor  has  done  me  a 
very  great  injury,  and  now  repents  of  it,  is  it  unjust  for 
me  to  forgive  him  ?  You  would  think  me  beside  myself, 
were  I  to  ask  the  question  seriously,  and  with  regard  to 
a  case  actually  in  hand.  In  forgiving  my  penitent  neigh- 
bor, I  wrong  no  one.  I  give  him  what  T  take  from  no 
one  else  ;  for  mercy  grows  by  exercise.  I  give  him 
what  I  owe  him  as  a  fellow-being,  and  a  legitimate  object 
of  sympathy  and  charity.  If  your  little  child  has  been 
disobedient,  and  is  now  sorry  for  it,  do  you  regard  it  as 
unjust  for  you  to  forgive  him  ?  Are  you  unrighteous, 
because,  on  account  of  his  regret  for  his  fault  and  his 
promise  of  amendment,  you  forbear  the  chastisement, 
which  the  fault  persisted  in  might  seem  to  merit  ?  No  ; 
for  you  only  give  to  the  child  from  that  fountain  of 
paternal  love,  which  God  caused  to  well  up  within 
you  for  the  child's  benefit.  You  give  the  child 
what  is  rightfully  his  own.  No  more  is  God  unjust 
in  extending  free,  unpurchased  mercy  to  his  penitent 
child. 

Still  farther,  I  contend  that  divine  justice  not  only 
admits,  but  necessarily  includes  and  implies,  the  for- 
giveness of  the  penitent  sinner.  It  would  be  unjust 
lor  God  not  to  forgive  the  contrite.     That  stern,  flinty, 


THE     ATONEMENT.  177 

inexorable  vice,  not  virtue,  which  technical  theologians 
have  been  wont  to  call  justice,  is  not  what  they  term 
it.  Such  a  counterfeit  of  justice,  if  it  exist  anywhere, 
is  to  be  found  with  the  devil  and  his  angels.  True 
justice  is  the  perfection  of  goodness.  It  is  a  goodness, 
which  does  no  wrong,  which  is  impartial,  and  not. a 
respecter  of  persons,  which  renders  to  all  their  due, 
and  which,  in  every  place  and  relation,  discharges  the 
appropriate  offices  of  that  place  or  relation.  Now  God 
is  our  Father  ;  and  the  justice  of  a  father  is  firm,  dis- 
creet, impartial,  yet  munificent  affection.  What  title 
to  the  character  of  a  just  man  could  be  claimed,  think 
you,  by  that  human  father,  who  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
the  sincere  penitence  of  his  erring  son  ?  To  be  sure, 
the  son  could  base  no  claim  upon  his  past  merits.  But 
the  father  would  owe  it  to  his  own  nature,  to  the  spon- 
taneous impulses  of  a  paternal  heart,  to  forgive  him. 
He  would  do  himself  the  most  outrageous  injustice  by 
persevering  in  anger  and  in  vindictive  measures.  Thus 
is  it  also  with  our  Father  in  heaven.  Though  his 
erring  children  can  build  no  claim  on  the  ground  of 
past  merit  or  obedience,  he  yet  owes  to  himself  to  for- 
give them.  He  would  be  unjust,  false  to  his  own 
nature,  were  he  to  despise  the  sighing  of  the  contrite, 
and  the  desire  of  the  penitent.  He  would,  in  that 
case,  withhold  from  men  that,  which,  though  they  could 
not  claim  it  on  the  score  of  merit,  is  their  rightful  due 
as  his  creatures,  as  his  children.  I  maintain,  then, 
that  the  forgiveness  of  the  sincere  penitent  is  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  divine  justice.  As  such  it  is  represented 
by  the   sacred   writers.     What  could   be  more  explicit 


178  THE    ATONEMENT. 

on  this  point,  than  St.  John's  declaration  :  '  If  we  con- 
fess our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us 


our  sins 


?  >  # 


I  next  remark,  that,  if  it  is  inconsistent  with  the 
divine  justice  not  to  forgive  the  penitent,  it  is  still  more 
so,  to  punish  the  innocent  instead  of  the  guilty.  If 
justice  has  any  signification  whatever,  it  certainly  in- 
cludes and  implies  the  rendering  to  each  individual, 
and  to  no  other  in  his  stead  or  for  his  sake,  the  good 
or  the  evil  that  is  his  due.  Apply  the  principle  of  the 
vicarious  atonement  to  human  affairs,  and  see  how 
much  wrong  it  vi^ould  produce,  of  how  much  iniquity 
it  would  be  the  parent.  We  will  suppose  a  case.  A 
man  has  been  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  forgery, 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years.  At  the  expiration  of  ten 
years,  it  is  represented  to  the  chief  magistrate,  that,  at 
an  early  period  of  his  confinement,  he  showed  decided 
marks  of  deep  contrition,  that  his  conduct  has  been 
without  exception  exemplary,  and  that  he  will,  un- 
doubtedly, if  pardoned,  be  a  worthy  and  valuable 
member  of  society,  in  fine,  that  he  is  among  the  fittest 
subjects  for  executive  clemency.  The  governor  says  : 
'  Yes  ;  he  surely  ought  to  be  pardoned.  But  the  sen- 
tence must  be  executed.  Go  then,  take  him  from  his 
cell,  and  immure  in  his  stead,  for  the  next  ten  years, 
that  good  man  over  the  way.  He  has  never  broken 
the  law  in  any  one  point.  He  is  the  best  citizen  we 
have  ;  and  there  is  no  other  man,  by  whose  imprison- 
ment the  majesty  of  the  law  can   be  so  well  sustained.' 

*  1  John  i.  9. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  179 

Would  you  not  infer,  that  this  magistrate's  conscience 
and  moral  sentiment  had  been  paralyzed  ?  Would  you 
not  deem  such  a  procedure  the  very  climax  of  un- 
righteousness ?  Or  suppose  that  one  of  my  children 
had  incurred  some  threatened  punishment,  but  was  now 
penitent  for  the  fault,  and  that  the  other,  an  innocent, 
loving  little  creature,  begged  to  be  punished  in  her 
sister's  stead, — you  would  never  afterwards  trust  my 
judgment  in  matters  of  right  and  wrong,  if,  even  at 
the  instance  of  the  child's  own  compassion,  I  punished 
the  faultless  one,  and  let  the  guilty  go.  The  native 
instinct  of  the  human  heart  relucts  at  the  very  idea  of  a 
vicarious  penalty,  and  demands  that  punishment  be 
either  remitted,  or  visited  upon  the  offender  in  his 
own  person.  Now  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  un- 
becoming and  irreverent  to  ascribe  to  God  a  course  of 
conduct,  which  we  should  reprehend  and  despise  in 
man. 

But  it  is  said,  that  to  forgive  the  sin  of  the  penitent, 
without  laying  its  punishment  on  some  other  person, 
encourages  sin.  I  have  never  been  able  to  see  the 
force  of  this  objection  to  the  doctrine  of  the  free,  un- 
purchased mercy  of  God.  And,  if  it  has  any  force, 
it  belongs  no  less  to  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atone- 
ment, than  to  that  of  free  pardon  ;  for,  in  either  case, 
repentance  is  the  only  condition  required  of  the  sinner. 
Nor  can  he  be  restrained  from  sin  by  an  unwillingness 
to  add  to  the  sufferings  of  his  substitute  ;  for,  accord- 
ing to  the  popular  doctrine,  the  punishment,  and  that 
an  infinite  one,  has  been  already  borne,  and  conse- 
quently cannot  be  increased  by  any  additional  amount 


180  THE    ATONEMENT. 

of  guilt.  To  my  mind,  forgiveness  on  the  sole  condi- 
tion of  repentance  holds  out  a  premium  to  goodness, 
not  to  sin.  It  keeps  the  prize  of  holiness  within  sight 
and  reach  of  the  sinner  at  every  pause  of  his  guilty 
career,  whenever  conscience  wakes  and  passion  sleeps. 
It  opens,  from  every  corner  in  his  path  of  sin,  cross 
paths  to  the  road,  from  which  he  has  wandered.  It 
cries  at  every  step,  '  Turn  ye,  turn  ye  ;  for  why  will 
ye  die  ? '  It  seems  to  me  to  imply  the  strangest  con- 
fusion of  ideas,  to  maintain  that  sin  is  encouraged  by 
promises,  which  can  be  of  no  effect,  till  sin  is  repented 
of  and  forsaken. 

But  we  are  told,  that  the  burdened  conscience 
needs  a  vicarious  atonement,  and  can  feel  secure  of 
forgiveness,  only  when  it  can  behold  its  punishment 
laid  upon  another's  shoulders.  That  this  feeling  is  a 
very  frequent  element  in  religious  experience,  I  have  no 
doubt.  I  believe  that  very  many  burdened  consciences 
can  find  relief  only  through  a  vicarious  atonement. 
But  this  state  of  feeling  is  created  by  the  very  doctrine, 
which  it  craves.  Men  feel  thus,  when  under  convic- 
tion of  sin,  because  they  have  been  taught  to  regard 
the  Almighty  as  unwilling  or  unable  to  forgive  sin,  with- 
out the  substituted  suffering  of  another,  —  because  they 
have  never  had  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  presented  to 
them  as  a  ground  of  trust  and  hope,  —  because  they 
have  always  had  associations  of  wrath  and  vengeance 
connected  with  him,  and  thus  have  been  constrained  to 
look  to  the  Son  for  that  forgiveness,  for  which  they 
have  been  forbidden  to  go  to  the  Father.  But,  where 
the  Father's  forgiving  love  is  set  forth  as  full,  large. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  181 

and  free,  the  sin-burdened  conscience  can  cast  its 
burden  upon  him,  though  in  utter  self-reproach  and 
self-abasement,  yet  without  a  shadow  of  doubt  or  fear. 

I  have  thus  far  reasoned,  as  if  the  popular  dogma  of 
the  atonement  were  consistent  with  the  confessedly 
Scriptural  doctrine  of  the  remission  or  forgiveness  of 
sins.  But  it  is  not  so.  If  the  one  be  true,  the  other 
cannot  be.  If  you  owe  me  a  sum  of  money,  and 
your  neighbor  pays  it  to  me  in  your  stead,  there  is  no 
remission  of  the  debt  on  my  part.  If  you  injure  me, 
and  I  punish  your  son  or  brother  in  your  stead,  I  exer- 
cise no  forgiveness.  Vicarious  punishment  is  not 
pardon ;  but  the  two  are  at  opposite  poles  of  the  moral 
universe.  If  God  has  taken  full  punishment  upon 
Christ,  if  he  has  exacted  from  him  the  full  price,  he  has 
put  it  for  ever  out  of  his  own  power  to  forgive  sin,  —  he 
has  blotted  the  very  idea  of  pardon  out  of  his  book,  — 
he  has  made  the  remission  of  sin,  impossible.  If 
Christ  has  paid  my  debt,  I  owe  nothing.  If  Christ 
has  borne  my  punishment,  I  am  no  long  v  'liable  to 
punishment.  I  therefore  can  no  longer  be  the  subject 
of  pardon,  or  of  the  remission  of  sins.  But  if  there  is 
any  one  doctrine,  that  gives  the  key-note  to  the  whole 
New  Testament,  it  is  that  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ; 
and  the  dogma,  which  renders  this  impossible,  can  have 
no  place  in  the  counsel  of  God. 

We  might,  were  it  necessary,  show  the  absurdity 
of  the  popular  notion  of  the  vicariousness  of  Christ's 
sufferings,  by  a  still  farther  analysis  of  the  ideas,  which 
it  includes  or  implies.  It  is  a  doctrine  held  only  by 
Trinitarians  ;  and  to  them  the  question  may  be  fairly 
16 


182  THE    ATONEMENT. 

1  / 
put,   How  can   God   punish  God,  or  be  punished  by  i  i 

God  ?  How  can  God  pay  a  penalty  to  God,  or  cancel  ] 
a  debt  due  to  God  ?  This  difficuhy  was  felt  by  some 
of  the  early  advocates  of  the  doctrine  under  considera- 
tion ;  and,  to  obviate  it,  they  decided,  (and  such  was 
the  general  belief  of  the  church  for  several  centuries,) 
that  the  price  or  penalty,  paid  by  Christ,  was  paid  to 
the  devil,  in  lieu  of  the  souls  which  Christ  ransomed 
from  his  power. 

We  might  also  ask,  how  is  it  in  the  nature  of  things 
possible,  that  Christ,  an  innocent,  holy  being,  could 
have  borne  the  punishment  due  to  human  guilt  ?  For 
in  what  does  that  punishment  consist  ?  It  consists  in  the 
forfeiture  of  the  divine  favor,  and  of  the  sympathy  and 
companionship  of  the  good,  in  the  stings  of  an  evil 
conscience,  in  the  undying  goadings  of  depraved  desire 
and  unholy  passion,  in  a  state  of  protracted  opposition 
to  the  divine  government  and  disobedience  of  the 
divine  law.  It  is  a  burden,  which,  from  its  very 
nature,  could  have  been  borne  by  no  innocent  being, 
least  of  all,  by  a  being  perfect,  divine,  and  infinite. 

Is  it  said,  that,  in  intense  physical  suffering,  Christ 
bore  the  full  equivalent  of  these  inward  torments  due 
to  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  ?  We  ask,  when  ; 
where  ?  We  read,  indeed,  of  the  agony  of  Gethse- 
mane.  But  that,  though  intense  and  awful,  was  but 
for  a  brief  season,  and  was  sustained  with  a  spirit  so 
full  of  submission  and  of  filial  piety,  as  to  make  such 
woe,  even  if  protracted  through  eternity,  a  heaven, 
compared  with  the  torment  of  an  unreconciled  and 
rebellious   soul.     Then,   at  the   crucifixion,  there  was 


THE     ATONEMENT.  183 

the  one  exclamation,  '  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me  ?  '  This,  there  is  indeed  some  rea- 
son to  suppose,  was  designed  simply  as  a  citation  of 
the  psalm  commencing  with  these  words,  which  con- 
tains many  things  applicable  to  Jesus.  But  if,  (as 
seems  to  me  more  probable,)  this  exclamation  was  an 
expression  of  the  feeling  of  the  moment,  it  cannot  have 
implied,  that  he  deemed  himself  deserted  by  him,  to 
whom,  a  moment  afterwards,  he  said  in  the  calm  con- 
fidence of  a  child,  '  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend 
my  spirit ; '  but  it  must  have  had  reference  to  those 
outward  circumstances  of  tribulation,  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  call  the  hidings  of  God^s  countenance^ 
so  that  it  must  be  understood  to  mean,  '  My  God,  why 
hast  thou,  in  thine  inscrutable  wisdom,  seen  fit  to  leave 
me  under  such  a  weight  of  torture  and  of  contumely  ? ' 
But,  with  the  exception  of  the  agony  in  Getbsemane, 
and  the  inference  that  might  be  drawn,  (wrongly,  as  I 
think,)  from  that  momentary  exclamation  on  the  cross, 
the  whole  scene  of  the  betrayal  and  crucifixion  is  so 
far  from  presenting  the  picture  of  one,  who  was  endur- 
ing the  eternal  suffering  of  myriads  compressed  into  a 
few  hours,  that  it  gives  us  rather  the  idea  of  a  victory 
over  suffering  and  death,  so  entirely  won  before  the 
hour  came,  as  to  leave  our  Saviour's  spirit,  with  but  a 
passing  cloud,  calm,  free,  unburdened,  elastic,  full  of 
heavenly  communings,  and  consciously  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Father.  But,  supposing  the  popular  doctrine  of 
Christ's  vicarious  suffering  true,  could  such  an  incon- 
ceivable weight  of  anguish  have  been  laid  upon  him, 
without  having  left,  in  the  record  of  those  hours,  traces 


184  THE    ATONEMENT. 

of  an  agony  so  unearthly,  so  infinitely  surpassing  the 
previous  imagination  of  beholders,  that  the  cry  of  the 
suffering  God-man  would  have  thrilled  through  the 
universe,  and  the  horror  and  despair  of  the  appalling 
scene  would  have  seemed  like  the  opening  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  beneath  the  feet  of  those  that  stood  by  ? 
What  !  A  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  nay,  un- 
counted millions  of  eternal,  and  therefore  infinite, 
burdens  of  the  most  intense  and  hopeless  torment  of 
body  and  soul,  and  all  these  laid  upon  Christ's  human 
nature,  which  is  represented  as  finite,  —  is  there  any 
trace,  or  shadowing  forth  of  this,  anywhere  in  the 
sacred  history  ?  Calvin,  perceiving  this  difficulty, 
maintained  that  Christ  spent  the  interval  between  his 
death  and  his  resurrection  in  hell,  suffering  there  the 
utmost  possible  measure  of  torment  and  agony  ;  and,  if 
the  doctrine  of  a  vicarious  atonement  be  true,  this  sup- 
position is  indispensably  necessary,  to  reconcile  it  with 
the  narrative  of  the  evangelists. 

We  might  also  argue  against  the  idea  of  a  vicarious 
atonement  from  its  manifest  inconsistency  with  every 
statement  of  doctrine  or  duty,  with  every  discourse  or 
parable  in  the  New  Testament,  which  is  capable  of 
being  considered  in  connection  with  it.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  parable  of  the  master,  whose  servant 
owed  him  a  thousand  talents,  —  a  parable,  which  was 
expressly  designed  to  illustrate  the  divine  forgiveness, 
and  which  we  cannot  suppose  the  great  Teacher  to 
have  so  framed,  as  to  exclude  the  essential  conditions 
of  forgiveness.  Insert  in  this  parable  the  vicarious 
atonement,  —  suppose  the  master  to  exact  full  payment 


THE    ATONEMENT.  185 

of  some  other  servant,  —  what  a  heartless  mockery  do 
you  make  of  the  words,  '  He  freely  forgave  him  the 
debt  !  ' 

To  take  another  instance,  the  parable  of  the  prodigal 
son  was  undoubtedly  designed  to  exhibit  God's  mercy 
to  the  penitent.  Insert  in  this  the  idea  of  vicarious 
punishment.  Suppose  the  parable  to  read  as  follows, 
(and  such  must  be  its  actual  import,  if  the  doctrine 
under  discussion  be  true.)  '  And  when  the  Father 
saw  the  wanderer  returning  with  every  mark  of  contrite 
sorrow,  he  called  the  elder  son,  who  had  always  served 
him,  nor  trangressed  at  any  time  his  commandments, 
and  said.  My  son,  my  first-born  and  best  beloved,  here 
is  thy  lost  brother  coming  back  again,  and  begging  for 
the  bread  of  my  house  ;  but  the  word  has  gone  forth 
from  my  lips,  that  the  child,  who  once  leaves  my 
house,  shall  never  return  ;  and  I  know  not  how  to 
remit  this  sentence,  unless  thou  wilt  take  upon  thyself 
the  shame,  and  woe,  and  suffering  due  to  his  wayward- 
ness.' Who  does  not  perceive,  that,  with  this  gloss, 
the  parable  loses  all  its  worth  and  beauty  ?  Nay,  had 
it  been  thus  written,  instead  of  being  oftener  read,  and 
more  attractive,  than  any  other  portion  of  the  Bible,  it 
would  have  been  almost  repulsive  enough,  to  have 
sunk  into  neglect  and  oblivion  the  gospel  that  con- 
tained it. 

I  might  refer  you,  in  this  connection,  to  the  petition 
in  our  Lord's  prayer,  '  Forgive  our  debts,  as  we 
forgive  our  debtors.'  One,  who  believes  in  the  vicari- 
ous sufferings  of  Christ,  cannot  use  this  petition  with 
sincerity ;  for  he  hopes  to  be  forgiven  in  a  very  different 
16* 


186  THE    ATONEMENT. 

way  from  that,  in  which  he  knows  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
forgive.  God's  forgiveness  is  often  held  forth  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  a  measure  and  an  example  for 
man's  forgiveness.  Upon  what  an  appalling  career  of 
wrong  and  crime  should  we  enter,  were  we  to  make 
God's  forgiveness  on  account  of  the  substituted  suffer- 
ings of  the  innocent,  the  measure  and  example  for  our 
own  ! 

I  next  remark,  that  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  vicarious 
suffering  represents  God  as  a  changeable  being,  —  as 
indisposed  at  first  to  show  mercy,  but  made  placable 
by  the  death  of  Christ.  Take,  for  instance,  the  senti- 
ment of  one  of  Dr.  Watts's  hymns,  much  used  in  our 
Calvinistic  churches,  in  which,  speaking  of  God's 
throne,  he  employs  the  following  terrific  language  :  — 

'  Once  't  was  a  seat  of  dreadful  wrath, 

And  shot  devouring  flame  ; 
Our  God  appear'd  consuming  fire, 

And  vengeance  was  his  name. 

'  Rich  were  the  drops  of  Jesus'  blood, 

That  calm'd  his  frowning  face, 
That  sprinkled  o'er  the  burning  throne, 

And  turned  the  wrath  to  grace.' 

Oh  when  I  have  heard  these  words  read  or  sung,  the 
image,  that  they  have  brought  to  my  mind,  has  been 
the  farthest  possible  from  that  of  the  Father  God,  of 
whom  Jesus  said,  '  He  so  loved  the  world  that  he  sent 
his  Son.'  They  have,  on  the  other  hand,  placed 
before  me  the  semblance  of  a  blood-thirsty  fiend,  at 
first  ravening  for  his  prey,  and  to  be  approached  with 
safety,  only  when  satiated  with  carnage.     But  has  he, 


THE    ATONEMENT.  187 

whose  words  are,  '  I  am  Jehovah,  I  change  not,' 
indeed  sustained  such  an  entire  revolution  of  disposition 
and  character  ?  So  says  the  theology  of  the  schools. 
So  says  not  the  New  Testament,  which  never  represents 
Christ's  mission  and  death  as  the  cause  of  the  Father's 
love,  but  always  as  its  fruit  and  pledge.  Indeed,  it  is 
to  my  mind  a  conclusive  argument  against  a  vicarious 
atonement,  that,  wherever,  in  the  New  Testament, 
God  is  named  in  connection  with  the  mediation  and 
death  of  Christ,  he  is  spoken  of,  not  as  the  object  of 
Christ's  mission  and  atonement,  but  as  its  author^  and 
as  having  originated  it  in  love  to  men,  that  he  might 
draw  them  to  himself. 

But  it  is  urged  by  the  advocates  of  the  popular 
doctrine,  that  Christ's  death  is  often  spoken  of  in  the 
Scriptures  as  a  sacrifice.  This  is  indeed  the  case  ; 
and  I  know  of  no  term,  which  could  have  been  more 
naturally  and  properly  applied  to  the  death  of  Christ, 
than  this.  His  death  was  a  sacrifice  offered  for  the 
redemption  of  man.  This,  no  Christian  doubts.  The 
question  is,  was  it  a  vicarious  sacrifice  ?  That  it  was 
not,  would  appear  from  the  striking,  yet  neglected  fact, 
that,  in  the  Scriptures,  Christ  is  oftener  compared  to  a 
sacrifice,  which  was  not  even  a  sin-offering,  namely,  to 
the  paschal  lamb,  than  to  any  other  part  of  the  Jewish 
ritual.  He  is  frequently  called  the  Lamb,  also,  our 
passover.  The  figure  is  drawn  out  in  full  by  St.  Paul 
in  the  following  text  :  '  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed 
for  us  :  therefore  let  us  keep  the  feast,  not  with  the  old 
leaven,  neither  witli  the  leaven  of  malice  and  wicked- 
ness ;  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and 


188  THE    ATONETMENT. 

truth.'*  The  passover  was  a  commemorative  festival, 
by  which  the  Hebrews  celebrated  their  deliverance 
from  Egyptian  bondage  ;  and  the  paschal  lamb  was  the 
chief  food  of  this  anniversary  supper.  Christ  in  his 
death  was  likened  to  this  lamb,  because  there  clustered 
about  his  death  associations  of  deliverance  from  a  worse 
than  Egyptian  bondage,  from  the  slavery  of  doubt,  and 
fear,  and  sin  ;  and  also,  because,  in  the  Christian  festival, 
designed  to  supersede  the  passover,  bread,  emblematic 
of  the  Saviour's  body  broken  on  the  cross,  took  the 
place  of  the  paschal  lamb. 

The  vicarious  atonement  has  been  professedly  sus- 
tained by  analogies  drawn  from  the  Old  Testament ; 
but,  in  point  of  fact,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  vicarious 
suffering  under  the  Jewish  law.  Most  of  the  Jewish 
offerings  and  sacrifices  were  not  sin-offerings  ;  but 
either  thank-offerings,  offerings  of  firstlings  and  first- 
fruits  designed  chiefly  for  the  subsistence  of  the  priests 
and  Levites,  or  offerings  in  acknowledgment  of  those 
unintended  omissions  or  transgressions  of  the  ritual  law, 
to  which  no  moral  guilt  was  attached.  Moreover,  very 
many  of  the  sacrifices  were  bloodless  ones-  offerings  of 
fine  flour,  oil,  wine,  fruit,  and  grain.  And  in  this 
connection,  it  is  an  important  and  instructive  fact,  that 
the  animal,  made  typically  to  bear  the  sins  of  the  whole 
people,  on  the  great  annual  day  of  atonement,  was  not 
slain.  '  The  priest  shall  lay  both  his  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the  iniquities 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in 

*  1  Corinthians  v.  7,  8. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  189 

all  their  sins,  putting  them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat  ; 
and  shall  send  him  away  by  the  hand  of  a  fit  man  into 
the  wilderness  :  and  the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him  all 
their  iniquities  unto  a  land  not  inhabited  :  and  he  shall 
let  go  the  goat  in  the  wilderness.'*  This  is  the  only 
instance  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  which  sin  is  said 
to  be  laid  upon  any  animal,  or  in  which  language  seem- 
ing to  imply  vicariousness  or  substitution  is  used  in 
connection  with  any  part  of  the  INIosaic  ritual  ;  and,  in 
this  service,  the  animal  was  not  made  to  suffer  in  any 
form  or  way.  But  this  was  a  part  of  the  great  annual 
confession-service  or  remission-service,  in  which,  if 
anywhere,  the  idea  of  vicarious  suffering  must  needs 
have  been  introduced.  This  idea,  however,  cannot  be 
traced  in  any  portion  or  feature  of  the  Mosaic  dispen- 
sation. 

Sacrifice  was,  in  fact,  a  symbolical  form  of  worship, 
which  all  nations  have  practised  in  their  infancy,  and 
which,  under  the  Mosaic  law,  was  regulated  and 
sanctioned,  as  still  adapted  to  the  imperfect  culture 
and  rude  habits  of  the  covenant  people.  Under  a 
low  state  of  civilization,  sacrifice  w^as  an  obvious  means 
of  attesting  the  sincerity  of  the  religious  sentiment. 
It  was  symbolical  prayer  or  praise.  He,  who  was 
penitent,  fined  himself  in  a  sin-ofiering.  He,  who  was 
thankful,  showed  the  fervor  of  his  gratitude  by  setting 
aside  from  his  own  use,  and  consecrating  in  some  form, 
accordant  with  the  notions  of  his  times,  a  part  of  that 
wherein  God  had  prospered  him.     Christ's  death  bore, 

*  Leviticus  xvi.  21,  22. 


190  THE    ATONEMENT. 

therefore,  a  closer  analogy  to  the  slaying  of  the  paschal 
lamb,  with  its  glad  associations  of  deliverance  and 
divine  guidance,  than  to  any  other  part  of  the  ancient 
ritual  ;  and  we  can  thus  account  for  the  frequency,  with 
which  the  passover  furnishes  the  sacred  writers  with 
the  phraseology  employed  with  reference  to  the  cruci- 
fixion. 

Inasmuch  as  Christ's  death  was  a  sacrifice,  whatever 
view  we  may  take  of  its  object  or  its  efficacy,  it  would 
have  been  very  strange  if  the  sacred  writers,  who  were 
all  Jews,  had  not  often  employed  with  reference  to  it 
the  word  sacrifice,  and  the  phrases  usually  connected 
with  that  word.  But  it  would  have  been  still  more 
strange,  and  certainly  would  have  authorized  the 
suspicion  of  some  peculiar  and  mysterious  signification 
attached  to  this  phraseology,  if,  employing  it  with 
reference  to  the  death  of  Christ,  they  had  used  it  on  no 
other  subject.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  They  have 
used  the  word  sacrifice,  (and  connected  with  it  offer 
up  and  similar  phrases,)  with  reference  to  a  large 
variety  of  subjects.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the 
instances.  '  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  brethren,  that 
ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice.'  *  '  If  I  be 
offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I 
joy,  and  rejoice  with  you  all.'f  'lam  full,  having 
received  of  Epaphroditus  the  things  which  were  sent 
from  you,  an  odor  of  a  sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice  accept- 
able, well-pleasing  to  God.' if  'Let  us  offer  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit 

*Rom.  xii.  1.  +  Phil.  ii.  17.  J  Phil.  iv.  18.  "~ 


THE    ATONEMENT.  191 

of  our  lips,  giving  thanks  to  his  name.  But  to  do  good, 
and  toconnmunicate,  forget  not ;  for  with  such  sacrifices 
Goci  is  well  pleased.'*  'Ye  also,  as  lively  stones, 
are  built  up  a  spiritual  house,  an  holy  priesthood,  to 
offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ. f  From  these  examples,  we  see  that  nothing 
like  vicarious  suffering  is  implied  in  the  frequent  com- 
parison of  our  Saviour's  death  to  the  sacrifices  under 
the  Jewish  ritual. 

Indeed,  would  we  only  interpret  the  sacred  writings 
by  the  common  laws  and  customs  of  speech,  we  should 
be  at  no  loss  for  the  origin  of  phraseology  of  the  kind 
now  under  consideration.  In  figurative  language,  we 
constantly  style  beings,  whether  human  or  divine,  whom 
we  revere  or  love,  by  the  names  of  objects  which  we 
peculiarly  admire  or  prize.  How  frequently  are  such 
words  as  gem,  jewel,  diamond,  applied  to  valued  human 
friends.  In  like  manner,  Christ  is  called  in  the  Scrip- 
tures the  morning  star,  the  temple  and  the  light  of 
heaven,  and  the  like.  Now  a  devout  Jew  would  have 
been  more  likely  to  have  borrowed  such  titles  for  the 
Saviour  from  the  revered  ritual,  under  which  he  had 
been  born  and  educated,  than  from  any  other  source. 
But  the  multitude  and  diversity  of  such  titles,  borrowed 
from  the  Jewish  ritual,  preclude  any  doctrinal  inference, 
which  might  be  drawn  from  the  use  of  any  one  of 
them.  He  is  called  not  only  a  sacrifice,  in  the  sense 
of  a  slain  victim  ;  but  also,  '  a  sacrifice  for  a  sweet-smell- 
ing savor,^  +  that  is,  an  incense-offering,  — then  again, 

*  Heb.  xiii.  15.  16.  t  1  Peter  ii.  5.  t  Eph.  v.  2. 


192  THE    ATONEMENT. 

the  mercy-seat^  *  (for  this,  all  sound  commentators  and 
critics  admit,  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  rendered 
propitiation  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans,)  — then,  the  high  priest,  (frequently  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews,)  — then  also  the  veil  between 
the  holy  place  and  the  holy  of  holies,  f  Now  all  these 
analogies  are  true,  beautiful,  instructive,  and  edifying. 
They  all  open  rich  veins  of  devotional  thought  and 
feeling,  and  reflect  back  upon  the  Old  Testament  rays 
of  gospel  light,  which  cover  it  with  the  glory  of  the 
New,  and  shed  around  it  the  celestial  halo,  that  encir- 
cled our  Saviour's  own  brows.  But  you  will  see  at 
once,  that,  if  these  analogies  had  been  designed  to 
represent  doctrinal  facts,  they  could  not  all  have  been 
used.  If,  in  a  dogmatic  point  of  view,  Christ  was  a  slain 
victim,  he  could  not  have  been  also  an  incense-offering, 
—  if  an  offering,  he  could  not  have  been  also  the  mercy- 
seat,  on  which  no  offering  was  laid,  —  if  a  sacrifice,  he 
could  not  have  been  also  the  high  priest,  who  offered 
sacrifice.  These  comparisons,  which,  if  anything  more 
than  figures,  clash  so  harshly  with  each  other,  must 
then  be  regarded  as  mere  images,  designed  to  shadow 
forth,  under  various  aspects,  the  power,  the  love,  and 
the  sufferings  of  Christ. 

These  figures  occur  chiefly  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  which  was  written  mainly  to  impress  upon 
Jewish  minds  the  spiritual  majesty  and  beauty  of 
Christianity.  The  Jewish  converts  missed,  in  Chris- 
tianity, the  outward  beauty  of  holiness,  to  which  they 

*  Romans  iii.  25.  t  Hebrews  x.  20. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  193 

had  been  accustomed,  the  solemn  tread  of  the  priestly 
train,  the  pompous  ceremonial  of  the  great  day  of 
expiation,  the  smoke  of  the  daily  sacrifice.  The  wri- 
ter of  this  epistle  aimed  to  reconcile  those,  to  whom 
he  wrote,  to  the  simplicity  of  the  Christian  system  and 
ritual,  by  shewing  them,  that,  for  everything  beautiful 
and  glorious  in  Judaism,  Christianity  offered  something 
greater  and  more  perfect  of  the  same  kind.  The 
burden  of  the  epistle  is  :  '  God  spake  to  the  fathers 
by  the  prophets  ;  to  us  by  his  Son.  Judaism  has  its 
succession  of  dying  high  priests,  who  must  perform  the 
same  service  over  again  every  year  ;  we  have  an 
unchangeable  high  priest,  who  remains  forever^  and 
whose  one  service  and  oblation  is  forever  sufficient. 
Under  the  old  dispensation,  there  was  a  tabernacle, 
glorious  and  beautiful,  made  icith  hands;  ours  is  a 
greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle,  not  made  with 
hands.'  Thus  also,  with  numerous  other  particulars. 
If  you  will  take  this  idea  with  you  in  reading  the  epis- 
tle to  the  Hebrews,  it  will  give  that  epistle  a  harmony 
and  consistency,  which  you  may  not  now,  perhaps,  be 
able  to  trace  in  it  ;  and  you  will  regard  it  as  the  very 
best  form,  in  which  Jewish  prejudices  could  have  been 
overcome,  and  the  Christian  faith  of  one  born  a  Jew 
could  have  been  conciliated  or  confirmed.  This  view 
of  the  epistle  will  account  for  much  of  the  phraseology 
commonly  quoted  in  the  discussion  of  the  atonement, 
and  may  prepare  us  for  the  consideration  of  particular 
texts  upon  this  subject,  to  which  I  shall  invite  you  in 
the  next  lecture. 

My    hour    is    fully   spent  ;  and   I   have   spent  it  in 
17 


194 


THE    ATONEMENT. 


negations,  which  I  dishke  to  do,  when  it  can  be 
avoided.  But,  on  account  of  the  tenacity  with  which 
many  chng  to  the  view,  against  which  I  have  been 
contending,  I  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  give  it  as 
thorough  a  discussion  as  possible,  before  presenting 
that  view  of  the  atonement,  which  seems  to  me  both 
rational.  Scriptural,  and  full  of  instruction  and  edifica- 
tion. None  can  attach  a  higher  efficacy  than  I  would, 
to  the  cross  and  death  of  Christ  ;  but  I  believe,  (as  I 
shall  attempt  to  show  you  in  the  next  lecture,)  that  it  is, 
in  the  language  of  our  text,  '  God  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself,'  and  not  Christ  reconciling  God 
to  man.  As  a  sacrifice  of  love,  in  which  God  and 
Christ  consent,  may  the  Saviour's  atoning  blood  be 
applied  to  our  hearts  and  consciences,  so  that  '  we, 
having  received  the  atonement,  may  joy  in  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 


LECTURE   VIII. 


THE   ATONEMENT. 

1  PETER  III.  18. 

CHRIST  ALSO  HATH  ONCE  SUFFERED  FOR  SINS,  THE  JUST  FOR  THE   UNJUST, 
THAT  HE  MIGHT  BRING  US  TO  GOD. 

In  my  former  lecture  on  the  atonement,  I  con- 
fined myself  chiefly  to  the  obvious  considerations 
opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour's  vicarious  or 
substituted  suffering.  I  shewed  you  that  this  doc- 
trine has  no  place  in  the  recorded  teachings  of  our 
Saviour,  of  his  apostles,  or  of  the  early  Christian 
fathers  ;  that  the  forgiveness  of  the  penitent  was  always 
a  part  of  God's  law  ;  that  the  forgiveness  of  the  peni- 
tent is  not  only  consistent  with  perfect  justice,  but  an 
essential  part  of  justice  ;  that  Christ's  vicarious  suffer- 
ings destroy  the  doctrine  of  pardon,  inasmuch  as  there 
can  be  no  pardon,  where  the  full  penalty  is  paid  ;  and 
that,  so  far  from  being  an  encouragement  to  sin,  the 
free  forgiveness  of  the  penitent,  and  of  those  only,  is 
the  surest  inducement  to  goodness.  I  then  spoke  of 
the  absurdity  of  maintaining,  as  our  Trinitarian  brethren 
do,  that  God  can  punish  God,  or  can  be  punished 
by  God.     I  then  shewed  you,  that  there  are  no  traces, 


196  THE    ATONEMENT. 

in  the  gospel  history,  of  the  infinite  weight  of  agony 
said  to  have  been  laid  upon  our  Saviour.  I  next  ex- 
hibited the  inconsistency  of  the  vicarious  atonement 
with  some  of  our  Saviour's  principal  statements  of 
religious  doctrine,  —  then  too,  with  the  immutability  of 
the  divine  attributes.  I  then  took  up  the  frequent  com- 
parison of  our  Saviour  to  the  Jewish  sacrifices,  on 
which  rests  perhaps  the  most  frequently  urged  argument 
in  favor  of  the  vicariousness  of  his  death.  I  shewed 
you  that  the  Jewish  sacrifices  were  not  vicarious  ;  that 
Christ  is  more  frequently  compared  to  the  paschal 
lamb,  which  was  not  even  a  sin-offering,  than  to  any 
other  part  of  the  Jewish  ritual  ;  that  comparisons  with 
reference  to  his  death  are  drawn  indifferently  from 
every  portion  of  the  Jewish  ritual,  which  comparisons, 
if  they  designate  doctrinal  truths,  are  inconsistent  with 
each  other,  and  can  be  harmonized  only  by  supposing 
them  mere  figures  ;  and  that  the  word  sacrifice,  with  its 
corresponding  phraseology,  is  employed  with  reference 
to  a  large  variety  of  subjects  and  persons,  other  than 
Christ  and  his  death.  I  now  resume  the  subject  ;  and 
may  tax  your  patience  for  an  unusual  length  of  time, 
as  I  am  solicitous  to  complete  my  discussion  of  the 
atonement  this  evening. 

The  advocates  of  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  suffer- 
ing allege  in  its  favor  certain  proof-texts,  the  principal 
of  which  we  will  now  pass  in  cursory  review.  Many 
of  these  texts  are,  to  my  mind,  entirely  opposed  to  the 
doctrine,  in  behalf  of  which  they  are  quoted  ;  for  they 
refer  to  Christ  and  his  death,  not  as  removing  the  pun- 
ishment of  sin,  but  as   taking  away  sin  itself, —  an  effi- 


THE    ATONEMENT.  197 

cacy,  which  no  Christian  denies.  Such  are  these 
texts  :  '  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.'*  '  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'f  '  How  much 
more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the  eternal 
spirit  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your 
conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  ? '  | 
These  passages  cannot  imply  vicarious  punishment  ;  for 
that  does  not  take  away  sin,  or  have  any  effect  upon 
the  sinner,  —  it  simply  takes  away  the  wrath  of  God 
and  the  penalty  of  his  law.  The  taking  away  of  sin 
is  a  work,  which  can  be  wrought  only  upon  the  indi- 
vidual's own  soul  and  character,  and  with  which  a 
vicarious  atonement  has  no  possible  connection.  In 
point  of  fact,  there  is  not  a  single  text  in  the  Bible,  in 
which  Christ  is  said  to  have  taken  away  the  punishment 
of  men's  sins,  or  to  have  appeased  God's  wrath,  or  to 
have  made  him  propitious. 

I  omit  now  the  consideration  of  those  texts,  where 
Christ  is  merely  spoken  of  as  a  sacrifice;  for  they 
were  sufficiently  discussed  in  the  last  lecture.  I  pass 
to  the  class  of  texts,  in  which  Christ  is  said  to  bear 
men''s  sins.  '  Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree.'§  In  like  manner,  Isaiah  says, 
'  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sor- 
rows ; '  and,  '  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him^  (to  be  thus 
borne,)  the  iniquity  of  us  all.''  \\  We  fortunately  have 
n  St.  Matthew's  gospel  an  authoritative  interpretation 
of  this  phraseology.      It  is  in  the  following  passage  : 

*  John  i.  29.  t  1  John  i.  7.  t  Hebrews  ix.  14. 

§  1  Peter  ii.  24.  ||  Isaiah  liii.  4,  6. 

17* 


198  THE    ATONEMENT. 

'  He  cast  out  the  spirits  with  his  word,  and  healed  all 
that  were  sick  ;  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet,  saying.  Himself  took 
our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses,''*  He  bore 
them  by  bearing  them  off,  by  taking  them  aicay  ;  for 
no  one  of  course  supposes  that  he  assumed  the  sick- 
nesses, which  he  cured.  In  fact,  in  each  of  the  orig- 
inal languages  of  the  Scriptures,  the  word,  which  means 
to  lift  or  bear,  means  also,  and  perhaps  full  as  fre- 
quently, to  take  off,  or  to  carry  away. 

Another  class  of  texts  is  of  those,  in  which  the  word 
ransom  is  employed.  Our  Saviour,  as  reported  by 
Matthew  and  Mark,  says  :  '  Whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister  :  even  as  the  Son 
of  man  came,  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many.'f  St.  Paul 
also  says  of  Christ,  that  he  '  gave  himself  a  ransom  for 
all. 'I  These  are  the  only  instances,  in  which  the  word 
occurs  with  reference  to  Christ.  Now  the  word  ren- 
dered ransom  undoubtedly  means,  in  its  literal  sense, 
money  paid  to  the  captor  for  the  redemption  of  a  cap- 
tive. Is  it  contended  that  the  word  is  used  literally 
in  the  passage  just  quoted  ?  Let  those,  who  think 
so,  tell  us  then,  who  was  the  captor  of  men's  souls,  and 
when  and  how  any  sum  of  money  was  paid  to  that 
captor.  Do  they  say  that  there  was  no  captor,  and  that 
no  money  was  paid  }  Then  they  must  acknowledge,  that 
the  word  is  figuratively  employed  with  reference  to  our 
Saviour.      But,  if  it  be  figuratively  employed,  we  must 

*  Matt.  viii.  16,  17.  t  Malt.  xx.  27,  28.     Mark  x.  44,  45. 

t  1  Timothy  ii.  6. 


THE  ATONEMENT.  199 

look  for  its  interpretation   to  its   figurative   use   in   the 
Bible  on  other  subjects.    Now  the  corresponding  word, 
(both  the  noun  and  the  verb,)  is   often  used  in  the  Old 
Testament   with   reference   to  the    Israelites,  in  such  a 
way  that  it  can  only   denote   the   means   or  the  act  of 
deliverance.      Thus,  in  Isaiah,    God   says  to  his  cove- 
nant people,  '  I  gave  Egypt  for  thy  ransom,^*  by  which 
we  cannot  understand  the  price  paid  to  those,  who  held 
the   Israelites   in   captivity  ;    for   Egypt   was  the   very 
power   that  kept  Israel  captive,  and  Egypt  could   not 
have  been  given  to  Egypt,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  w^as 
utterly  subdued  and  spoiled.     The  sense  obviously  is  : 
'  I   gave   up  Egypt  to  defeat  and  humiliation  for  thy 
deliverance.'^     In  like   manner  says  Jeremiah  :   '  The 
Lord  hath  redeemed   Jacob,    and   ransomed  him  from 
the  hand  of  him  that  was   stronger   than   he,'f  that  is, 
not  paid  a  price  for  him,  but  manifestly  delivered  him. 
With  reference  to  the  Babylonish  captivity,  the   Israel- 
ites are  called   the  ransomed.^  and  the  ransomed  of  the 
Lord^  by  which   is  evidently  meant,   not  redeemed  by 
the  payment  of  a  price^  but  simply  delivered.    Deliver- 
ance., then,  is  the  idea  attached   to  the  word  ransom., 
when   figuratively  employed   in  the   Bible  ;  and,  as   it 
cannot  be  literally   used   with  regard  to  our  Saviour,  I 
have   not   the   slightest   doubt,  that  the  word  means,  as 
used  with  reference  to  his  mediation,  deliverance  from 
darkness.,  error.,  and  sin. 

I  would  next  refer  to   the  texts,  in  which  Christians 
are  said  to  be   bought  with  a  price.     There  are  two  of 

*  Isaiah  xliii.  3.  t  Jeremiah  xxxi.  11. 


200  THE    ATONEMENT. 

these  texts.  The  death  of  Christ  is  not  spoken  of  in 
connection  with  either  of  them  ;  and  they  both  stand  in 
such  a  connection,  as  to  shew  that  it  is  not  the  impunity, 
but  the  allegiance,  the  service  of  Christians,  that  is 
purchased.  In  one  of  them,  the  language  is  :  '  He 
that  is  called,  being  free,  is  Christ's  servant.  Ye  are 
bought  loith  a  price  ;  be  not  ye  the  servants  of  men,'* 
that  is,  by  what  Christ  has  done  and  suffered  in  your 
behalf,  he  has  purchased  your  service, —  has  laid  upon 
you  an  imperative  obligation  to  be  the  servants  of  no 
other  master.  The  other  text,  in  which  this  phrase 
occurs,  relates  to  the  duty  of  self-consecration  to  God's 
service.  '  Know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple 
of  the  holy  spirit  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  of 
God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own  ?  For  ye  are  bought 
icith  a  price  ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and 
in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's.' f  The  obvious  sense 
of  this  passage  is,  '  God,  by  the  spiritual  aid  and 
grace,  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  you,  has  bought 
your  allegiance, — has  established  an  indefeasible  claim 
to  your  service, —  has  made  it  your  obvious  and  imper- 
ative duty  to  live,  not  as  your  own,  but  as  his,  as  his 
in  body,  soul,  and  conduct.' 

I  next  ask  your  attention  to  the  texts,  in  which  Christ 
is  spoken  of  as  a  propitiation.  They  are  three.  One 
is  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  '  Whom  God  hath 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation^  through  faith  in  his  blood, 
to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the  remission  of  sins 
that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God  ;  to  de- 

*  1  Corinthians  vii.  22,  23.  t  1  Corinthians  vi.  19,  20. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  201 

clare,  I  say,  at  this  lime  his  righteousness,  that  he  might 
be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in 
Jesus.'*  This  text,  as  a  whole,  is  certainly  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  vicarious  suffering  as  the  ground  of  par- 
don ;  for  '  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past '  is  ex- 
pressly said  to  be,  not  through  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
but  '  through  the  forbearance  of  God,'  and  Jesus  is 
said  to  be  '  set  forth  '  or  manifested,  not  to  make  God 
merciful,  but  '  to  declare  '  or  exhibit  '  his  righteous- 
ness.' The  word  rendered  propitiation^  means  mercy- 
seat.  So  say  nearly  all  critics  and  commentators  of 
any  authority  or  value.  This  is  one  of  the  instances, 
in  which  our  Saviour,  by  one  who  was  born  and  edu- 
cated a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  is  compared  to  a 
prominent  portion  of  the  religious  apparatus  of  the 
Jews.  The  mercy-seat  was  the  lid  of  the  ark  of  the 
covenant.  It  was  within  the  holy  of  holies.  Above 
it  were  the  cherubim.  Upon  it,  and  between  their 
wings,  rested,  in  the  day  of  miracles,  the  luminous 
cloud,  betokening  the  divine  presence.  On  it  was  laid 
neither  sacrifice  nor  offering.  But,  once  a  year,  the 
high  priest  alone  entered  the  holy  of  holies,  sprinkled 
the  blood  of  victims  upon  the  mercy-seat,  offered  sup- 
plication for  the  divine  forgiveness  of  the  sins  of  the 
whole  people,  and  came  forth  to  declare  to  the  assem- 
bled nation  God's  pardon  to  the  penitent.  How  appro- 
priately then  is  Jesus  termed  the  mercy-seat,  both  as 
the  fullest  possible  manifestation  of  the  divine  attri- 
butes, and  as  the  messenger  and   pledge  of  the   divine 

*  Romans  iii.  25,  26. 


202  THE    ATONEMENT. 

forgiveness  !  But  the  appropriateness  of  the  compar- 
ison ceases,  if  you  connect  with  it  the  idea  of  vicarious 
punishment.  The  true  meaning  of  the  rich  and  beau- 
tiful passage  now  under  consideration  may,  perhaps,  be 
discerned  from  the  following  paraphrase.  '  Whom 
God  has  set  forth  as  a  mercy-seat  through  faith,  [that 
is,  a  spiritual  mercy-seat,]  sprinkled,  not  with  the  blood 
of  victims,  but  with  his  own  blood,  to  exhibit  or  mani- 
fest in  his  own  example  the  righteousness  which  he 
[God]  requires,  (for  such  was  the  forbearance  of  God, 
that,  instead  of  visiting  men's  sins  with  desolating  judg- 
ments, he  sent  his  Son  to  take  away  sin,)  to  manifest 
in  our  own  times  the  righteousness  that  God  requires, 
that  God  might  be  just,  might  still  adhere  to  that  law, 
by  which  only  the  penitent  are  pardoned,  and  yet,  that, 
through  the  beauty  of  Christ's  example  and  the  recon- 
ciling power  of  his  cross,  many  might  be  led  to  repent- 
ance and  a  holy  life,  and  might  thus  be  accounted  as 
righteous  in  his  sight.' 

The  other  two  passages,  in  which  the  word  propitia- 
tion is  used,  are  these :  '  If  any  man  sin,  we  have  an 
advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous, 
and  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.'* 
'  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he 
loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins.'f  In  these  texts  the  Greek  word  is  not  the 
same  as  that  used  in  the  text  last  under  discussion  ;  but 
it  is  a  very  similar  word,  derived  from  the  same  verb. 

*  1  John  ii.  1,  2.  t  1  John  iv.  10. 


I 


THE    ATONEMENT.  203 

It  is  the  word  employed  in  the  Septuagint  to  designate 
the  sin-offerings  under  the  Jewish  ritual  ;  and  this  I 
suppose  to  be  its  meaning  as  used  by  St.  John.  These 
texts  then  are  instances  of  yet  another  of  the  compari- 
sons, so  numerous  in  the  New  Testament,  of  Jesus  and 
his  death  to  features  and  portions  of  the  religious  cere- 
monial of  the  Jews.  In  my  last  lecture,  I  shewed  you 
that  the  Jewish  sacrifices  were  not  vicarious  ;  and, 
this  being  the  case,  the  comparison  of  our  Saviour 
to  one  of  those  sacrifices  can  be  of  no  weight  as 
an  argument  for  the  vicariousness  of  his  atonement. 

There  are  two  or  three  single  texts,  which  now  de- 
mand our  notice.  One,  which  claims  a  passing  com- 
ment on  account  of  the  frequency  with  which  it  is 
quoted,  though  it  has  no  connection  with  the  subject,  is 
this  :  '  Without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission,'* — 
not,  of  sins,  as  it  is  usually  quoted  ;  for  the  sentence 
relates  to  the  furniture  of  the  tabernacle,  which  was  of 
course  incapable  of  sin.  The  word  rendered  remis- 
sion, means  letting  go.  The  whole  passage  is  :  '  He, 
[Moses,]  sprinkled  likewise  with  blood  both  the  taber- 
nacle, and  all  the  vessels  of  the  ministry.  And  almost 
all  things  are  by  the  law  purged  with  blood  ;  and  with- 
out shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission,^  that  is,  nothing 
is  let  go,  is  left,  without  being  sprinkled  with  blood,  — 
the  simple  statement  of  a  well  known  fact  in  the  Jewish 
economy,  which  an  ignorant  or  careless  person  may 
indeed  cite  as  referring  to  the  death  of  Christ,  but 
which  I  see  not  how  a   biblical  scholar  or  a  theologian 

*  Hebrews  ix.  22. 


204  THE    ATONEMENT. 

could  honestly  quote  as   teaching  one  thing  or  another 
with  regard  to  it. 

Another  passage  is  :  '  He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin 
for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him.'  *  I  know  of  no  commen- 
tator, who  does  not  make  sin  here  to  denote  a  sin-offer- 
ing'. Among  those,  who  give  this  exposition,  I  would 
mention  Doddridge,  McKnight,  and  Scott,  all  names 
of  approved  orthodoxy.  Says  McKnight  on  this 
verse,  and  with  perfect  truth,  '  There  are  many  pas- 
sages in  the  Old  Testament  where  sin  signifies  a  sin- 
oifering.  Thus,  Hosea  iv.  8.  They  (the  priests) 
eat  up  the  sin  (that  is,  the  sin-oJfterings)  of  my  people. 
In  the  New  Testament,  likewise,  the  word  sin  hath  the 
same  signification.  Hebrews  ix.  26,  28;  xiii.  11.' 
The  apostle's  assertion  then  is,  '  God  has  made  him, 
who  was  sinless,  to  be  a  sin-offering  for  us,  that  we 
through  him  might  be  made  righteous  or  holy.'  Now, 
unless  it  can  be  proved  that  the  sin-ofterings  under  the 
Jewish  dispensation  were  vicarious,  the  comparison  of 
Christ  to  these  sacrifices  cannot  indicate  the  vicarious- 
ness  of  his  sufferings. 

Another  text,  on  which  some  reliance  is  placed,  is 
this  :  '  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us  ;  for  it  is  written.  Cursed 
is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree.'f  The  phrase, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us,  many  regard  as  denoting, 
becoming  accursed  of  God  for  our  sakes,  that  is,  bear- 
ing his  wrath   and  indignation  due  to  the  guilt  of  man. 

*  2  Corinthians  v.  27.  t  Galalians  iii.  13. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  205 

But,  on  this  point,  I  will  quote  a  part  of  McKniglit's 
note  on  the  passage,  simply  saying,  that  I  accord  en- 
tirely with  his  view.  '  Christ's  dying  on  the  cross  is 
called  his  becoming  a  ciirse^  that  is,  an  accursed 
person,  a  person  ignominiously  punished  as  a  male- 
factor ;  not  because  he  w^as  really  a  malefactor,  and 
the  object  of  God's  displeasure,  but  because  he  was 
punished  in  the  manner,  in  which  accursed  persons,  or 
malefactors,  are  punished.     He  was  not  a  transgressor, 

but  he  icas  niunbered  with  the  transgressors 

That  this  is  the  true  import  of  the  phrase  having  be- 
come a  curse,  is  evident  from  the  passage  in  the  law, 
by  which  the  apostle  proves  his  assertion  :  It  is  written, 
accursed  is  every  one  who  is  hanged  on  a  tree.^ 

In  addition  to  these  passages,  there  are  several  in 
the  New  Testament,  in  which  Christ  is  said  to  have 
suffered  or  died  for  us,  or  for  our  sins,  —  reiterations 
in  fact  of  the  prophet's  words  :  '  He  was  wounded  for 
our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  ; 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace,  (that  is,  the  chastise- 
ment, through  which  our  peace  came,)  was  upon  him  ; 
and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed.'*  These  texts 
express,  without  ambiguity  to  my  own  mind,  the  great 
fundamental  truth  with  regard  to  Christ's  death,  in 
which  all  Christians  are  agreed,  namely,  that  he  died 
for  us,  died  in  our  behalf,  and  that  his  death  is  the 
means  of  our  peace  and  happiness,  both  here  and 
hereafter.  They  present  no  difficulty,  they  demand 
no  forced  interpretation,  to  make  them  consistent  with 

*  Isaiah  liii.  5. 

18 


206  THE    ATONEMENT. 

the  simplicity  of  our  faith.  Nay,  it  is  only  by  a  forced 
interpretation,  that  they  are  made  to  denote  Christ's 
vicarious  punishment.  When  you  say  that  a  patriot 
died  for  his  country,  that  a  self-devoted  citizen  suffered 
for  the  liberty  or  peace  of  his  fellow-citizens,  or  that  a 
missionary  offered  himself  to  privation,  suffering,  or 
death,  for  the  ignorance  or  guilt  of  benighted  pagans, 
you  do  not  mean  that  one  individual  suffered  or  died  in 
the  stead  of  others  ;  but  simply,  that  he  suffered  in  their 
behalf,  and  incurred  death  in  his  disinterested  exertions 
for  their  good.  Now  why  should  we  interpret  the 
language  of  the  Bible  on  different  principles  from  those, 
on  which  we  interpret  other  language  ?  But  all  these 
complicated  doctrines  are  founded  on  a  broad  departure 
from  the  common  laws  of  interpretation,  and  on  a 
stubborn  determination  to  make  words  and  phrases 
between  the  covers  of  the  Bible  mean  something 
widely  different  from  what  they  would  mean  in  any 
other  book.  The  phrases,  which  denote  one's  dying 
for  another,  when  they  occur  elsewhere  and  on  other 
subjects,  are  never  deemed  mystical.  Why  should 
any  mystery  hang  over  them,  as  we  read  them  in  the 
Bible  ? 

I  believe  that  I  have  now  referred  to  the  principal 
texts,  or  classes  of  texts,  usually  quoted  by  those,  who 
believe  that  Christ  was  punished  in  our  stead.  I  have 
not  knowingly  omitted  any,  which  seemed  to  demand 
notice.  In  closing  my  remarks  upon  the  doctrine  of 
vicarious  atonement,  I  would  observe  that  the  doctrine, 
if  true,  is  not  one,  which  there  is  any  need  of  our 
knowing,  or  which   can   exert  any  practical   influence 


THE    ATONEMENT.  207 

upon  our  hearts  or  lives.  If  it  be  true,  it  is  impossible, 
(as  I  shewed  you  in  the  last  lecture,)  for  us,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  faculties,  to  reconcile  it  with  the 
justice  of  God  ;  and  the  belief  of  it  would  therefore 
stand  in  the  way  of  right  feelings  with  reference  to  his 
character.  And,  if  it  be  true,  it  simply  indicates  an 
effect,  that  was  produced,  two  thousand  years  ago,  on 
the  divine  mind,  —  a  change,  that  was  then  wrought  in 
the  divine  character.  It  leaches  nothing  with  regard 
to  our  hearts  or  characters.  It  indicates  no  change  to 
be  wrought  in  us.  A  blood,  shed  to  make  God  pro- 
pitious, cannot  be  sprinkled  upon  our  hearts  and  con- 
sciences. We  cannot  be  conscious  of  a  penalty  paid, 
or  a  punishment  inflicted,  in  our  behalf,  ages  before  we 
were  born.  It  can  then  make  no  essential  difi'erence, 
whether  we  believe  this  doctrine  or  not.  The  work,  if 
wrought,  may  have  been  wrought  for  the  benefit  of  us, 
who  can  trace  no  authentic  records  of  it,  no  less  than 
for  that  of  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  of  the  infant 
world,  who  died  before  it  was  wrought.  We  may 
safely  remain  ignorant  of  what  cannot  possibly  affect 
our  hearts  or  lives.  It  can  be  of  vital  consequence  for 
us  to  know  those  things  only,  by  knowing  which  we 
may  be  led  to  do  what  we  should  otherwise  leave 
undone,  or  to  omit  what  we  should  otherwise  do. 
Tried  by  this  test,  Christ's  punishment  in  our  stead, 
whether  true  or  false,  cannot  claim  the  place  usually 
assigned  to  it,  among  essential,  fundamental  doctrines. 
The  denial  of  it,  if  it  do  not,  (as  1  believe  that  it 
does,)  enhance  the  obligation  to  gratitude,  penitence, 
and  holiness,  at  least  leaves  the  obligation  to  those 
duties  unimpaired. 


^ 


208  THE    ATONEMENT. 

I  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief  exposition  of  my  own 
views  of  the  atonement.  The  three  great  points, 
which  seem  to  me  to  characterize  the  Scriptural  doc- 
trine of  the  atonement,  are,  first,  that  God  is  the 
author  ;  secondly,  that  man  is  the  object ;  and,  thirdly, 
that  holiness  is  the  end  of  the  atonement.  These  three 
ideas  are  found  combined  in  very  many  of  the  instan- 
ces, in  which  the  mission,  mediation,  and  death  of 
Christ  are  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament.  I  will 
read  two  or  three  passages  of  this  nature,  as  specimens 
of  scores  that  I  might  quote. 

'  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself.''^  God,  the  author;  the  world,  the  object  ; 
reconciliation  to  himself,  that  is,  holiness,  the  end. 

God  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no 
sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God 
in  him.'f  God,  the  author  ;  for  us,  the  object  ;  that 
we  might  he  made  the  righteousness  of  God,  the  end. 

Where  God  is  not  mentioned  in  the  very  sentence, 
in  which  our  Saviour's  mission,  mediation,  or  death,  is 
spoken  of,  still  the  end,  the  production  of  holiness  in 
man,  is  in  hardly  a  single  instance  omitted.  How 
clearly  is  this  end,  in  contradistinction  to  any  purpose 
with  reference  to  the  disposition  or  character  of  God, 
expressed  in  the  following  passages  !  '  Christ  hath 
also  once  suffered  for  sin,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that 
he  might  bring  us  to  God.'' \  'Our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  pecu- 

*2Cor.  V.  19.  t2Cor.  V.  21.  t  1  Peter  iii.  18. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  209 

liar  people^  zealous  of  good  works.^^  'Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.'' f  '  Who  his 
own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  l/iat 
we,  being  dead  to  sin,  should  live  unto  righteousness. ''X 

The  leading  idea  of  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  the 
atonement  then  Is,  that  Christ  died  to  make  men 
holy,  to  reconcile  them  to  God,  to  lead  them  to  his 
love  and  service,  to  make  them  'followers  of  God  as 
dear  children,'  in  fine,  that  Christ  died,  to  work,  not 
upon  God,  but  upon  man,  and  for  him  to  perform,  not 
an  outward,  but  an  inward  service, — a  service,  the 
efficacy^  of  which  is  uponjhe  human  heart  and  char- 
acter. 

I  am  well  aware  that  many  represent  this  as  an 
inferior  work,  —  as  a  work,  which  needed  not  for  its 
discharge  a  personage  so  eminent^  and  heavenly,  and 
which  can  hardly  have  authorized  the  strong  language 
used  in  the  Bible  with  regard  to  Christ's  death,  or  the 
exalted  titles  and  homage  ascribed  to  Jesus  on  earth 
and  in  heaven.  Had  I  not  often  heard  this  objection, 
I  should  think  it  no  compliment  to  your  spiritual  dis- 
cernment to  take  notice  of  it ;  for  I  feel  sure  that  I 
have  your  entire  sympathy,  when  I  say  that  the 
greatest  service,  which  God  himself  can  render  to 
man,  is  to  make  him  holy,  perfect,  godlike,  to  redeem 
him  from  the  power  of  sin,  and  to  shed  the  consecra- 
tion of  a  devout  and  dutiful  spirit  over  his  whole  soul 
and  his  whole  Jife.^And  if  Christ  has  performed  this 
service  for   man,   then   has  he  performed  for   him  the 

*  Thus  ii.  10,  11.  t  1  Timothy  i.  15.  t  1  Peter  ii.  24. 

18* 


210  THE    ATONEMENT. 

most  momentous  and  godlike  service  possible,  — a  ser- 
vice, for  which  he  cannot  but  have  a  name  above  every 
other  name,  and  for  which  the  eternal  ascription  of 
gratitude  and  praise  must  echo  through  the  ranks  of  the 
redeemed.  Leave  this  service  unperformed,  leave  me 
in  unrepented  sin,  with  my  grovelling  aims  and  uncon- 
secrated  life,  and  it  is  a  small  service,  that  a  price  is 
paid,  or  a  penalty  borne  in  my  stead,  —  I  carry  my 
hell  about  with  me,  a  hell,  which  would  shed  its  black- 
ness over  my  spirit,  were  I  in  paradise.  But  save  me 
from  my  sins,  purge  my  conscience,  sanctify  my  soul, 
reform  and  consecrate  my  life,  in  hell  itself  I  should  be 
proof  against  its  torments,  —  I  cannot  but  be  happy, — 
my  heaven  is  within,  and  cannot  be  taken  from  me. 
The  idea,  that  to  elevate  and  sanctify  the  inner  man  is 
a  subordinate  work,  proceeds  from  the  unspiritual, 
grovelling  ways  of  thinking,  that  have  been  but  too 
characteristic  of  our  race  taken  collectively.  Men 
most  admire  what  comes  with  observation,  —  what  is 
external  and  formal.  They  appreciate  not  what  is 
wrought  in  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart,  and  ripens  for 
eternity.  On  this  ground,  the  conqueror  has  always 
seemed  a  greater  man  than  the  philanthropist,  and  the 
founder  of  a  hospital,  than  he,  who  heals  the  diseases 
of  the  soul.  On  precisely  the  same  principle  is  it,  that 
men  have  assigned  a  higher  dignity  and  worth  to  an 
atonement,  which  should  wipe  away  all  punishment  at 
a  single  stroke,  than  to  an  atonement,  which  must  be 
wrought  over  afresh  in  each  individual  heart,  creating 
it  anew  in  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  in  the  fulness  of 
the  divine  image.     To  my  own   mind,  this  latter  office 


THE    ATONEMENT.  211 

with  re2;ard  to  the  individual  soul  is  the  highest  office, 
which  I  can  imagine  as  belonging  to  the  Saviour  ;  and 
to  say  that  the  blood  of  Christ  has  cleansed  a  single 
soul  fronn  sin,  and  has  wholly  sanctified  that  soul,  is  to 
ascribe  more  to  it,  than  were  we  to  say  that  it  has  re- 
moved the  mere  penalty  of  violated  law  from  a  whole 
universe  of  sinners. 

But  some  one  may  say  :  '  If  Christ  does  no  more 
than  to  cleanse  the  soul  from  sin,  and  to  renew  it  in 
the  divine  image,  my  hope  of  pardon  for  my  past  sins 
is  gone.'  It  is  gone,  I  reply,  if  you  will  persist  in 
looking  upon  God  as  essentially  vindictive  and  unfor- 
giving ;  but  not,  if  you  will  only  take  God's  testimony 
concerning  his  own  character,  uttered  many  ages  before 
Christ  died,  when  he  revealed  himself  to  Moses,  '  The 
Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suf- 
fering, and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgres- 
sion, and  sin.'  I  believe  that  God  was  never  other- 
wise than  he  then  declared  himself.  I  build,  no  more 
than  those,  who  hold  an  opposite  doctrine,  on  my  own 
merits.  I  depend  for  forgiveness  on  the  eternal  mercy 
of  God,  made  known  to  the  fathers,  made  manifest  and 
incarnate  in  Christ.  Let  none  call  this  a  sandy  foun- 
dation. If  God's  mercy  be  not  a  sufficient  basis  for 
our  trust,  I  know  not  what  can  suffice.  It  is  a  founda- 
tion broader  than  the  universe,  —  immovable,  though 
heaven  and  earth  pass  away.  It  belts  creation  with  a 
zone  of  love.  It  upholds  all  worlds  and  beings.  It  is 
boundless  and  infinite.  The  need,  so  often  expressed, 
of  Christ's  vicarious  punishment,  is  a  need,  which  the 


212  THE     ATONEMENT. 

• 

doctrine  itself  creates. TT  should  feel  it,  if  I  believed 
that  God  was  ever  nnwilling  or  unable  to  forgive.  I 
should  feel  it,  if  I  believed,  in  Dr.  Walts's  language, 
that  God's  throne  '  once  was  a  seat  of  dreadful  wrath,' 
and  that  '  Vengeance  was  his  name.' 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  I  do  not  connect 
Christ,  his  sufferings,  and  his  death,  most  intimately 
with  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  My  hope  of  pardon  is 
in  God  through  Christ.  The  doctrine  of  pardon,  even 
if  revealed  before  Christ,  was  not  so  brought  to  light 
and  made  manifest,  that  it  could  be  the  object  of  a 
sustaining  and  satisfying  faith.  On  the  question, 
whether  God  will  forgive  sin,  the  analogies  of  nature 
shed  no  light  ;  for  her  subtle  powers  and  majestic 
agencies  have  never  sinned,  but  are  all  obedient. 
Those,  therefore,  who  have  been  left  to  the  light  of 
nature,  have  never  found  peace  under  the  burden  of 
transgression  ;  but  have  gone  the  whole  round  of  fasts, 
penances,  pilgrimages,  and  self-tortures,  without  ob- 
taining through  any  or  all  of  these  means  the  assurance 
of  forgiveness.  Nor  did  the  fainter  and  often  mysteri 
ous  light  of  God's  earlier  revelations  communicate  this 
assurance  in  its  fulness.  To  the  heart  that  knows 
itself,  and  feels  its  unworthiness  and  sinfulness,  the 
most  vital  of  all  questions  is,  Can  I  be  forgiven  .''  And 
to  this  question,  no  sufficient  and  satisfying  answer  has 
been  afforded,  except  in  the  loving  and  paternal  attri- 
butes of  the  Almighty,  as  made  manifest  in  the  person, 
the  ministry,  the  cross  of  Christ.  But,  when  we  look 
to  Jesus  as  the  image  of  God,  we  behold  in  him  a  love 
full  and  (ree,  ready  to  forgive,  waiting  to  be  gracious. 


THE     ATONEMENT.  213 

We  feel  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the  mercy,  which, 
amidst  the  agonies  of  death,  could  make  intercession 
for  the  transgressors  ;  and  we  can  thus  look  for  pardon 
with  implicit  confidence  to  that  mercy  on  the  throne  of 
the  universe,  which  he,  who  on  the  cross  prayed  for  his 
murderers,  came  to  declare  and  manifest.  It  is  then 
to  God,  as  revealed  and  beheld  in  Christ,  that  we  look 
for  pardon.  But  we  regard  the  promise  and  pledge 
of  pardon,  as  but  the  means  and  motive  to  personal 
holiness.  Jesus  says  to  us,  '  Your  sins  be  forgiven,' 
only  that  he  may  add,  with  an  emphasis,  which  par- 
doning mercy  alone  could  send  home  to  the  soul  of  the 
penitent,  '  Go,  and  sin  no  more.'  God  permits  us  to 
behold  his  forgiving  love  in  Christ,  that,  through  the 
energy  of  this  love,  our  souls  may  be  transformed,  re- 
newed, and  sanctified. 

But  in  behalf  of  a  vicarious  atonement,  I  have 
sometimes  heard  an  appeal  made  to  personal  experi- 
ence. Let  us  then  analyze  experience,  and  see  how 
far  it  can  go.  There  are  many  here,  I  trust,  who 
have  personally  '  received  the  atonement,'  who  cherish 
the  faith  and  hope,  and  lead  the  life  of  the  Christian, 
who  feel  the  peace  of  God  in  their  hearts,  and  breathe 
his  spirit  in  their  daily  conversation.  Were  I  address- 
ing myself  to  an  individual  of  this  class,  I  should 
appeal  to  his  own  consciousness,  and  say,  What,  my 
friend,  are  you  conscious  that  Christ  has  done  for  you  ? 
That  he  has  paid  any  price  for  you  .''  That  he  has 
incurred  any  penalty  due  to  you  ?  No.  Of  this,  even 
if  it  be  the  case,  you  cannot  be  conscious.  Of  what 
then  are  you  conscious  ?     That  Christ  has  made  the 


214 


THE    ATONEMENT, 


name  of  God  a  dear  and  cherished  name  to  your  heart  ; 
that  he  has  brought  you  near  to  huii,  as  a  child  to  a 
Father  ;  that  he  has  taught  you  to  pray  ;  that  he  has 
made  you  love  virtue  ;  that  he  has  led  you,  drawn  you 
on,  in  the  path  of  duty  ;  that  his  cross  and  death  have 
appealed  to  your  best  affections,  have  rebuked  your 
selfishness  and  worldliness,  have  made  you  feel  the 
beauty  of  holiness,  have  been  to  your  soul  a  touch- 
ing manifestation  of  divine  love,  have  laid  you  under  a 
pleasing  constraint  to  live,  not  for  yourself,  but  for  him 
that  died  for  you.  You  have  looked  upon  the  cross, 
and  said,  '  Herein  is  love  ; '  and  that  love  has  made 
the  yoke  of  obedience  easy,  and  the  burden  of  duty 
light,  has  called  out  your  own  love,  has  made  you 
heartily  penitent  for  sin,  and  earnestly  desirous  to  live 
as  the  cross  bids  you  live,  and  to  be  a  follower  of  the 
Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth.  This  is  the  sum  of  the 
Christian's  religious  experience,  —  this,  the  atonement 
wrought  in  the  true  disciple's  heart, —  this,  the  w^ork, 
which  takes  precedence  of  all  others,  in  its  dignity,  its 
worth,  and  its  fruits. 

Let  us  now  pause  for  a  moment,  and  consider  how 
much  is  implied  in  that  one  word,  atonement^  —  recon- 
ciliation. Here  is  a  human  being,  either  sunk  in  gross 
depravity,  or  immersed  in  the  heartless  pursuit  of  gain 
or  pleasure.  He  is  alienated  from  God,  renders  him 
no  thanks,  offers  him  no  prayers,  and  lives  as  he  might 
live,  were  he  self-created  and  in  a  world  of  his  own. 
His  sympathies,  either  are  shut  up  within  his  own 
bosom,  or  flow  within  the  narrow  channel  of  home  and 
kindred  ;  and,  even  for  those  whom  he  loves,  he  seeks 


THE     ATONEMENT.  215 

not  the  best  gifts,  loves  not  their  souls,  —  his  love 
may  be  false,  fatal  to  their  highest  interests,  —  he 
may  wreathe  around  them  his  own  chains  of  worldli- 
ness  or  guilt,  —  his  example  and  influence  may  be 
pestilential  to  all  within  his  reach.  For  that  man 
atonement  is  to  be  made.  He  is  to  be  brought  to  God. 
Those  stains  upon  his  spirit  and  his  life  are  to  fade 
away  before  the  light  of  God's  countenance.  That 
soul  must  look  on  Jesus,  till  his  divine  features  stamp 
themselves  upon  it.  That  heart,  so  cold,  or  so  filled 
with  lower  loves,  must  be  wholly  filled  with  the  love  of 
God.  That  life,  so  selfish,  must  breathe  a  diffusive, 
all-embracing  charity.  That  example,  that  influence, 
now  neutral,  if  not  baneful,  must  bless  all  on  whom  it 
shines,  and  lead  neighbors,  friends,  strangers,  to  give 
glory  to  God  for  its  beautiful  light.  The  whole  char- 
acter must  reflect  the  divine  image.  There  must  be  a 
reconciliation  of  will  and  purpose,  a  blending  of  the 
man's  will  with  his  God's,  a  oneness  of  aim  and  effort, 
a  frame  of  soul  and  of  life,  of  which  the  man  may 
say  with  truth,  '  God  dwells  in  me,  and  I  in  him.' 
Not  until  all  this  is  the  case,  not  until  the  Father's  love 
throbs  in  every  pulsation  of  the  child's  heart,  and  the 
Father's  will  rules  in  every  action  of  the  child's  life,  is 
the  atonement,  the  cU-one-menl^  fully  made. 

It  is  this  high  and  glorious  work,  which  Jesus  per- 
forms, when  he  brings  us  to  the  Father,  when  he 
reconciles  us  unto  God.  This  is  the  atonement,  of 
which  God  is  the  author,  Christ  the  agent,  man  the 
object.  To  effect  this  was  the  whole  work  of  Christ's 
ministry,  miracles,   teachings,  life,  death,   resurrection, 


216  THE    ATONEMENT. 

and  intercession.  But,  in  this  work,  the  New  Testa- 
ment assigns  the  most  prominent  place  to  the  death  of 
Christ  ;  and  every  Christian  heart  assigns  to  it  the 
same  place.  He  is  no  Christian,  to  whom  the  cross  is 
not  dear,  and  who  has  not  felt  the  need  and  worth  of  a 
suffering  Redeemer.  The  blood  of  Calvary  has  been 
the  life-blood  of  the  church. 

For,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  by  love,  that  man,  when 
ahenated  from  God,  is  softened,  humbled,  and  made 
penitent.  He  could  resist  threats.  He  could  steel  his 
heart  against  the  denunciations  of  vengeance.  In 
the  fearful  might  of  a  rebellious  spirit,  he  could  dare 
a  frowning  heaven  and  a  vindictive  Deity.  But  love 
has  a  voice,  to  which  none  can  listen  unmoved,  es- 
pecially when  it  makes  itself  heard  from  amidst  tor- 
ture and  mortal  agony,  incurred  in  behalf  of  those 
with  whom  it  pleads.  How  does  the  thought  of  one, 
who  suffered  and  died  for  every  man,  rouse  the  last 
faint  spark  of  virtuous  feeling  and  of  moral  strength, 
and  fan  it  into  a  generous  flame  !  How  does  it  bring 
near,  those  who  were  afar  off,  make  them  ashamed  of 
their  wanderings,  and  excite  the  earnest  longing,  that 
for  themselves  such  love  may  not  have  been  in  vain  ! 
'  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends.'  Jesus  might  have  dwelt 
on  earth  in  glorious  majesty,  and  passed  to  heaven  from 
an  unsuffering  ministry,  and  yet  have  loved  man  no 
less  ;  but  man  would  not  have  discerned  the  depth,  or 
felt  the  power  of  his  love,  had  he  not  gone  as  a  lamb 
to  the  slaughter,  and  freely  given  himself  up  for  us 
all. 


THE    ATONEMENT.  217 

But  was  it  his  own  love  only,  that  Jesus  manifested 
on  the  cross  ?  No  ;  but  also  the  love  of  One  greater 
than  he.  For  he  came  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father  ; 
and  he  represented  his  own  mission  and  death  as  the 
fruit,  the  expression,  the  pledge  of  the  Father's  love. 
'  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begot- 
ten Son.'  In  him  was  manifested  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily  ;  and,  in  the  depth  of  his  compassion 
and  the  perfectness  of  his  love,  he  was  exhibiting  the 
intensity  of  God's  pity,  and  the  fervor  of  his  afiection 
for  his  human  family.  By  carrying  his  love  to  the  last 
point  of  endurance  and  of  sacrifice,  he  exhibited  the 
boundlessness  of  that  mercy,  which  is  the  sinner's 
hope,  —  he  made  the  promise  of  pardon  full,  free,  all- 
embracing, —  he  bore  the  image  of  a  Father  always 
ready  to  forgive,  always  waiting  to  be  gracious* 
'  Scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die  ;  yet  per- 
adventure  for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare  to  die. 
But  God  commendeth  his  love  towards  us,  in  that 
while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.'  When 
we  look  at  the  cross,  we  are  constrained  to  ask,  with 
St.  Paul,  '  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  de- 
livered him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him 
also  freely  give  us  all  things  ? '  When  we  view  God 
in  Christ,  as  Christ  seals  his  mission  with  his 
blood,  we  can  exclaim,  wnth  the  same  apostle,  '  I  am 
persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.'  It  is  in  the 
19 


218  THE    ATONEMENT. 

love  and  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  the  Father  goes 
forth  to  meet  the  wandering  child.  It  is  in  Christ  cru- 
cified, that  he  reveals  the  fulness  of  paternal  love  ;  and 
thus,  from  the  first  moment,  gives  the  penitent  broad, 
firm  ground  for  encouragement  and  hope,  without 
which  he  would  have  neither  confidence  nor  strength  to 
retrace  his  evil  ways,  and  to  return  to  the  path  of  God's 
commandments. 

Then,  too,  it  behoved  Christ,  as  our  guide  and  ex- 
ample in  duty,  as  the  ivay  and  the  Zi/e,  to  be  made 
perfect  thi'ough  suffering.  His  godlike  purity  and  vir- 
tue might  have  been  no  less  perfect  and  entire  in  a 
manifestation,  without  suffering,  and  full  of  outward 
glory.  But  the  beauty  of  the  picture  would  have  been 
marred  by  the  gold  and  tinsel  of  its  setting.  It  shews 
itself  most  perfect  and  divine,  when  encompassed  by 
no  outward  form  or  comeliness,  wrapped  in  the  weeds 
of  sorrow,  and  shining  forth  from  the  shadow  of  death. 
His  submission,  his  tenderness,  his  forgiveness,  his 
philanthropy,  his  piety,  could  have  had,  in  no  other 
form,  their  full  manifestation.  His  example  could  have 
been,  under  no  other  circumstances,  so  radiant  with 
spiritual  beauty,  so  attractive,  so  inviting.  It  is  at  the 
cross,  that  we  learn  the  full  preciousness  and  loveliness 
of  Christ's  character,  and  feel  ourselves  the  most 
loudly  called,  the  most  tenderly  entreated,  to  become 
his  followers. 

Then  also  Christ's  sufferings  and  death  bring  his  ex- 
ample home  to  those  scenes  of  trial,  conflict,  sorrow, 
and  agony,  in  which  we  are  the  most  strongly  tempted 
to  forsake  the  service  of  God,  and  in  which,  therefore. 


THE     ATONEMENT.  219 

we  Stand  in  the  most  urgent  need  of  divine  help  and 
strength.  We  behold  in  him  a  full  and  perfect  victory- 
over  every  enemy  to  our  peace  and  progress.  We 
see  the  sting  of  sorrow  destroyed,  the  power  of 
death  subdued.  We  behold  him  triumphant  over 
grief,  and  agony,  and  the  bitterness  of  the  grave  ;  and 
trace,  through  the  shadow  of  his  tomb,  a  path  of 
living  light  that  leads  to  heaven.  We  hear  from  his 
cross  the  voice,  '  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I 
will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life  ; '  —  'To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even 
as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father 
in  his  throne.' 

In  all  these  points  of  vi.3w,  was  Christ's  death  an 
essential  part  of  that  plan  of  redemption,  by  which 
man  is  saved  from  sin,  and  made  one  with  God. 
Without  his  death,  his  own  love  would  not  have  been 
fully  shown,  and  might  have  pleaded  in  vain.  Without 
his  death,  God's  love  in  him  would  not  have  had  its 
utmost  manifestation  ;  God's  promise  of  pardon  through 
him  would  have  lacked  its  seal  ;  God's  invitation,  his 
offered  mercy  to  the  returning  sinner,  would  not  have 
had  full  emphasis  of  utterance.  Without  his  death, 
his  example  would  have  w^anted  its  most  godlike 
aspects.  Without  his  death,  his  example  would  not 
have  applied  itself  to  those  scenes  and  seasons  of  life, 
in  which  we  are  the  most  liable  to  faint  or  to  wan- 
der, and  the  most  in  need  of  divine  light  and  guidance. 
His  death,  then,  was  essential  to  the  full  power  of  the 
gospel,  and  thus  to  the  restoration  and  sanctification  of 
the  human  soul. 


220  THE    ATONEMENT. 

Yet,  because  I  deem  Christ's  death  thus  essential,  I 
do  not  undervalue  his  life,  his  teachings,  his  resurrec- 
tion, or  his  intercession.  They  all  combine  to  consti- 
tute the  vast  and  beautiful  system  of  means,  by  which 
God  reconciles  man  to  himself,  and  through  which  man 
receives  the  atonement. 

If  these  things  be  so,  brethren,  the  atonement  is  a 
work  wrought,  not  for  us,  but  within  us.  It  is  Christ's 
work  of  grace  in  our  souls.  When  we  feel  in  our 
inmost  hearts,  and  show  forth  in  our  daily  walk  and 
conversation,  the  power  of  his  death,  the  power  of 
his  spirit,  when  the  cross  is  reerected  in  our  souls, 
and  our  sins  are  nailed  to  it,  when  his  last  prayer, 
'Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,'  is  the 
prayer  of  our  whole  lives,  then,  and  not  till  then, 
have  we  received  the  atonement.  Let  our  discussion 
awaken  us  all  to  self-examination  as  to  our  part  in  this 
work  of  grace,  in  this  inward  salvation.  And  let  us 
account  '  Christ  formed  within '  as  our  only  hope  of 
glory  ;  and  deem  ourselves  his,  only  so  far  as  we  bear 
the  image  of  his  purity,  submission,  obedience,  love, 
and  piety. 

I  have  now,  my  friends,  in  a  series  of  eight  lectures, 
reviewed  with  you  some  of  the  heads  of  Christian  doc- 
trine, on  which  I  dissent  from  the  established  creeds  of 
those  portions  of  the  church,  with  which,  next  to  our 
own,  we  are  the  most  conversant.  In  my  first  lecture, 
I  labored  to  establish  the  divine  unity.  In  my  second^ 
I  discussed  the  question  of  our  Saviour''s  supreme  di- 
vinity. In  my  third^  I  endeavored  to  exhibit  a  com- 
prehensive   view"   of  the    teaching   of    Scripture  with 


THE    ATONEMENT.  221 

regard  to  Christ''s  true  rank  and  dignity.  iSlj  fourth 
was  upon  the  nature  and  agency  of  the  holy  sjjirit. 
My  fifth  was  on  human  nature  ;  my  sixth  on  regenera- 
tion ;  my  seventh  and  eighth  have  been  on  tlie  atone- 
ment. There  are  other  points  of  Christian  doctrine, 
which  I  wish  to  present  in  similar  systematic  and 
argumentative  discourses  ;  and,  particularly,  I  hope, 
at  some  future  time,  should  my  life  be  spared,  to 
present  to  you,  in  a  course  of  sermons,  the  positive 
side  of  our  views  of  Christian  truth,  without  reference 
to  points  in  controversy.  But  other  engagements  dispose 
me  now  to  close  the  present  course,  especially  as  I  have 
embraced  in  it  a  group  of  subjects,  which  naturally 
belong  together,  and  so  connect  themselves  with  each 
other,  as  to  give  to  the  course  a  certain  unity  and 
wholeness. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  urge  you,  on  all  these  subjects, 
to  search  the  Scriptures  for  yourselves,  diligently  and 
prayerfully,  and  not  to  accept  my  results,  without 
making  them  your  own,  by  the  careful  use  of  the 
reason  with  which  God  has  endowed  you,  and  the 
light  which  he  has  given  you.  And  may  he,  the 
spirit  of  truth,  guide  you  into  all  truth,  and  make  you 
faithful  in  the  way  of  his  commandments,  even  in 
that  path,  which  grows  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the 
perfect  day. 


JA'MES   MUNROE   AND   COMPANY 

ARE  PUBLISHERS   OF 

liiverinorc's  Coilimcntary,  The  Four  Gos- 
pels; with  a  Commentary,  intended  lor  Sabbath  School 
Teachers  and  Bible  Classes,  and  as  an  Aid  to  Family  In- 
struction. By  A.  A.  Livermore.  Stereotype  Edition. 
2  Vols,  containing  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John. 
12mo.  350  pp.  each. 

"In  a  field  of  criticism,  where  sectarianism  has  spoiled  nearly  every 
tree  and  flower,  this  new  product  of  a  generous  soil  deserves  our  notice 
as  the  nearest  approach  to  an  unseclarian  work.  We  feel  certain  it  will 
meet  the  wants  of  all  who  call  themselves  liberal  Christians,  as  a  fami- 
ly expositor,  a  reference  hook  in  the  study  of  the  Gospel,  a  companion 
in  the  Sunday  School,  and  an  aid  to  daily  devotion.  It  is  learned,  yet 
not  dry;  rational,  yet  not  cold  ;  fervent,  yet  not  fanatical  ;  tasteful,  yet 
not  one  line  for  mere  taste.  Mr.  Livermore  is  concise,  practical,  reason- 
able, full  of  generous  and  holy  feeling.  His  first  volume  having  met  in 
a  few  months  with  so  extensive  a  sale  as  to  authorize  a  stereotype  edi- 
tion, we  commend  its  simplicity,  earnestness,  purity  of  morals,  and  prac- 
tical piety,  to  a  popularity  like  that  which  has  already  rewarded  the  like 
labors  of  Mr.  Barnes."  —  Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine  and  Commer- 
cial RevieiD. 

liivermore's  €oiiinieiitaB*y  on  the  Book 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

"  This  will  be  found  a  valuable  assistant  by  those  who  seek  to  fulfil 
the  injunction,  to  '  search  the  Scriptures.'  "  —  Salem  Register. 

"  We  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  work,  and  we  would  bestow  upon 
it  all  the  commcudation  which  may  be  consistently  affixed  to  a  human 
work,  and  which,  in  this  instance,  would  not  offend  the  modesty  of  the 
author.  There  is  one  peculiarly  desirable  characteristic  which  distin- 
guishes Mr.  Livermore's  Comments;  it  is  that  of  skilfully  combining 
in  a  note  the  dry,  verbal  criticism,  with  the  spirited  illustration  and  en- 
forcement of  some  Christian  doctrine,  evidence,  or  duty.  This  charac- 
teristic of  his  volumes  relieves  them  of  what  is  generally  most  forbid- 
ding in  a  commentary,  and  attaches  to  them  what  is  most  impressive 
and  valuable  in  a  Christian  essay  or  discourse." —  Christian  Register. 

"  We  have  looked  through  this  volume  with  interest,  and  so  far  as  wc 
have  been  able  to  see,  it  will  be  a  useful  book.  It  is  not  meant  for 
scholars,  but  for  the  people,  and  therefore  avoids  elaborate  discussions. 
But  it  seems  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  good  deal  of  study.  It  does 
not  appear  to  be  a  superficial  book." —  Christian  World. 

Endeavors  after  the  Cliristian  IJfe.    A 

Volume  of  Discourses  by  James  Martineau.      12mo. 

Contests.  The  Spirit  of  Life  in  Jesus  Christ ;  The  Besetting  God  ; 
Great  Principles  and  Small  duties;  Eden  and  Gethsemane  ;  Sorrow  no 
Sin;  Christian  Peace;  Religion  on  False  Pretences;  Mammon  Wor- 
ship ;  The  Kingdom  of  God  within  us,  Part  I.  ;  The  Kingdom  of  God 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S     PUBLICATIONS. 

within  us,  Part  II.  ;  The  Contentment  of  Sorrow  ;  Immortality ;  The 
Communion  of  Saints  ;  Christ's  Treatment  of  Guilt  ;  The  Strength  of 
the  Lonely  ;  Hand  and  Heart  ;  Silence  and  Meditation  ;  Winter  Wor- 
ship ;  The  Great  Year  of  Providence  ;  Christ  and  the  Little  Child  ;  The 
Christianity  of  Old  Age  ;  Nothing  Human  ever  Dies. 

"  We  recommend  the  volume  to  our  readers  as  the  production  of  an 
enlightened  Christian  mind,  full  of  earnestness  and  power  and  love  of 
souls.  It  was  composed  because  the  author  had  something  to  say  on 
the  highest  subjects  of  human  thought,  because  his  heart  overflows  with 
sympathy  for  the  ills  of  man,  and  because  he  has  felt  for  himself  the 
lilessedness  of  laboring  for  their  removal.  He  is  an  enthusiast ;  but  an 
intelligent  one,  who  does  not  expect  to  remove  social  evils  by  the  appli- 
cation of  any  fine-spun  political  system,  but  by  awakening  in  each  indi- 
vidual heart  some  mighty  emotion,  that  shall  lead  to  the  reformation  of 
that  individual  liie. 

"  The  discourses  on  the  Kingdom  of  God  within  us,  on  Great  Princi- 
ples and  Small  Duties,  on  Immortality  and  the  Great  Year  of  Providence, 
are  particularly  interesting  and  instructive."  —  Monthly  Miscellany. 

Memoirs  of  tSae  Kev.  Moah  M^orcester, 
D.  D.  By  the  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  D.  D.  With  a 
Preface,  Notes,  and  a  Concluding  Chapter,  by  Samuel 
Worcester, 

Mortofii   051  tlie  Ta'iaiity.     A  Statement  of 

Reasons  for  Not  Believing  the  Doctrines  of  Trinitarians, 
concerning  the  Nature  of  God,  and  the  Person  of  Christ. 
By  Andrews  Norton.     12mo.  pp.  372. 

"  As  a  critic  and  theologian,  Mr.  Norton  has  long  ranked  in  the  very 
first  class.  But  the  present  treatise  will  not  need  the  aid  of  his  high 
reputation  to  give  it  weight  and  influence.  Those  who  know  anything 
of  him  or  his  writing,  will  readily  credit  us  when  we  say,  that  it  exhib- 
its a  rare  union  of  good  sense,  choice  learning,  discrimination,  and  sound 
logic,  which  will  place  it  among  our  standard  works  in  theology. 

"  Mr.  Norton  writes  for  intelligent  men,  for  those  who  do  not  shrink 
from  examination  and  patient  thought,  who  are  not  disgusted  at  being 
required  to  exercise  a  manly  independence,  who  seek  truth  for  truth's 
sake,  and  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  its  attainment.  Such  will  find 
in  the  work  before  us  ample  materials  for  study  and  reflection.  We  are 
much  mistaken,  if  to  many  of  them  it  do  not  open  new  views."  —  Christ- 
ian Examiner. 


IN  PRESS. 


SlMl'Oap's  Expository  I.i€Clwre.^.  Explain- 
ing the  Principal  Texts  of  the  Bible  which  relate  to  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Trinity.     r2mo. 

TliOM^lnts  ill  Vei'§c  obi  the  I^ife  and 
Teachings  or  €hri§t.     By.  Rev.  S.  G.  Bulfinch. 


VALUAELE    WORKS 

PUBLISHED  AND  FOR  SALE 

BY 

JAMES  MUNHOE  AND  COMPANY, 

Booksellers,  Importers,  and  Publishers, 

NO.  134  WASHINGTON,  OPPOSITE  SCHOOL  ST.  BOSTON. 
PUBLISHED  ANNUALLY.  No.  1. 


Livermore's  Commentary.  The  Four  Gospels ;  with 
a  Commentary,  intended  for  Sabbath  School  Teachers 
and  Bible  Classes,  and  as  an  Aid  to  Family  Instniction. 
By  A.  A.  Livermore.  St.  Ed.  2  Vols,  containing  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Lnke,  and  Jolui,     12mo.  350  pp.  each. 

'  In  a  field  of  criticism,  where  sectarianism  has  spoiled  nearly  every 
tree  and  flower,  this  new  product  of  a  generous  soil  deserves  our  notice 
as  the  nearest  approach  to  an  unsectarian  work.  We  feel  certain  it 
will  meet  the  wants  of  all  who  call  themselves  liberal  Christians,  as 
a  family  expositor,  a  reference  book  in  the  study  of  the  Gospel,  a 
companion  in  the  Sunday  School,  and  an  aid  to  daily  devotion.  It  is 
learned,  yet  not  dry;  rational,  yet  not  cold:  fervent,  yet  not  fanatical; 
tasteful,  yet  not  one  line  for  mere  taste.  Mr.  Livermore  is  concise, 
practical,  reasonable,  full  of  generous  and  holy  feeling.  His  first 
volume  having  met  in  a  few  months  with  so  extensive  a  sale  as  to 
authorize  a  stereotype  edition,  we  commend  its  simplicity,  earnest- 
ness, purity  of  morals,  and  practical  piety,  to  a  popularity  like  that 
which  has  already  rewarded  the  like  labors  of  Mr.  Barnes.' — HirnVs 
Merchants'  Magazine  atid  Commercial  Review. 


Livermore's   Commentary  on  the  Book  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

1 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIOKS. 


Norton  on  the  Trinity.  A  Statement  of  Reasons 
for  Not  Believing  the  Doctrines  of  Trinitarians,  con- 
cerning the  Natnre  of  God,  and  the  Person  of  Christ. 
By  Andi-ews  Norton.     12mo.  pp.  372. 

*  As  a  critic  and  theologian,  Mr.  Norton  has  long  ranked  in  the  very 
first  class.  But  the  present  treatise  will  not  need  the  aid  of  his  high 
reputation  to  give  it  weight  and  influence.  Those  who  know  any- 
thing of  him  or  his  writing  will  readily  credit  us  when  we  say,  that 
it  exhibits  a  rare  union  of  good  sense,  choice  learning,  discrimination, 
and  sound  logic,  which  will  place  it  among  our  standard  works  in 
theology. 

'  Mr.  Norton  writes  for  intelligent  men,  for  those  who  do  not  shrink 
from  examination  and  patient  thought,  who  are  not  disgusted  at  being 
required  to  exercise  a  manly  independence,  who  seek  truth  for  truth's 
sake,  and  are  willing  to  pay  the  price  of  its  attainment.  Such  will 
find  in  the  work  before  us  ample  materials  for  study  and  reflection. 
We  are  much  mistaken,  if  to  many  of  them  it  do  not  open  new 
views.' — Christian  Examiner. 

Norton's  Genuineness.  The  Evidences  of  the  Gen- 
uineness  of  the    Gospels.     By   Andrews   Norton.     3 

vols.  8vo. 


Noyes's  Hebrew  Prophets.  A  New  Translation  of 
the  Hebrew  Prophets,  arranged  in  Chronological  Or- 
der. 3  vols.  12mo.  Each  volnme  comprising  about 
pp.  300.     New  Edition  with  additions. 

*  We  conceive  that  Mr,  Noyes  has  made  the  Christian  public  much 
his  debtor  by  the  portion  now  before  us  of  a  version  of  that  difficult 
and  strongly  interesting  part  of  Scripture,  the  Hebrew  prophecies. 
Three  things  are  especially  to  be  spoken  of  to  his  praise ;  his  learning, 
his  cautious  and  sound  judgment,  and  his  beautiful  taste.     *     *     * 

*■  We  conclude  with  expressing  our  firm  persuasion,  that  the  great 
importance  of  these  works  will  not  fail'  to  be  permanently  and  in- 
creasingly estimated.  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  our  countrymen,  if 
their  author  is  not  already  reaping  some  benefit  from  them,  additional 
to  his  own  consciousness,  and  their  acknowledgment,  of  his  having 
devoted  high  powers  to  a  high  object.' — Christian  Examiner. 

'  This  new  edition  is  of  increased  value  on  account  of  the  additions 
and  corrections  which  it  contains.  The  whole  series  of  volumes, 
from  the  pen  of  this  accomplished  Hebrew  scholar,  may  now  be  ob- 
tained in  a  uniform  shape,  and  is  of  great  value,  and  of  high  impor- 
tance to  all  students  of  the  Bible,  Common  readers  will  be  surprised 
to  observe  how  many  passages,  which  are  unintelligible  to  them  in 
the  common  version,  are  here  made  plain  and  significant  by  a  slight 
change  of  expression,  of  the  meaning  of  a  single  word,  or  the  turn  of 
a  sentence.  We  should  advise  all  who  wish  to  procure  a  set  of  these 
translations  to  make  haste  to  obtain  one;  it  is  a  purchase  which  they 
will  never  regret.' — Christian  Register. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS.  3 

Noyes's  Psalms.  A  New  Tmnslation  of  the  Eook  of 
Pt^alms,  with  an  Introduction.  By  Geroge  E,.  iS'oycs. 
12mo.     Li  press. 

Noyes's  Job.  An  Amended  Version  of  the  Eook  of 
Job,  with  an  Introduction  and  Notes,  chiefly  Explana- 
tory. By  George  K.  Noyes.  Second  Edition,  revised 
and  corrected.     12mo. 

'  No  translation  has  appeared  in  England,  since  that  of  Isaiah  by 
Lowth,  which  can  sustain  a  comparison  with  that  of  the  Book  of  Job, 
by  Mr.  Noyes.  With  some  slight  exceptions,  this  latter  is  very  much 
what  we  could  wish  it  to  be.' — Spirit  of  the  Pilgriins. 

'  We  have  not  seen  any  translation  of  the  Book  of  Job  with  which 
the  public  ought  to  be  satisfied,  unless  it  be  that  which  is  the  subject 
of  the  present  review.  Mr.  Noyes's  version  is,  in  onr  opinion,  by  far 
the  best  translation  of  Job  we  have  seen  in  the  English  language. 
Almost  every  page  bears  testimony  to  his  acuteness  and  patient  in- 
dustry, to  his  habitual  caution  and  accuracy,  to  his  fine  powers  of 
discrimination,  and  to  his  excellent  skill  and  good  taste.  He  has  con- 
centrated upon  the  sacred  page  the  most  approved  lights  of  ancient 
and  modern  learning;  yet  he  has  done  it,  not,  as  has  been  the  case 
with  many,  to  add  new  brightness  to  the  original,  but  to  illustrate 
what  had  been  made  obscvue,  and  to  present  to  view,  in  its  true  pro- 
portions, what  had  become  distorted  through  the  fault  of  imperfect 
versions. 

'  The  notes  at  the  end  of  the  volume  have  been  examined  by  us 
with  care,  and  we  cannot  withhold  the  tribute  of  our  high  commen- 
dation, not  only  for  the  evidence  they  give  of  extensive  research,  and 
great  discrimination,  but  for  their  invariable  pertinency,  and  the  per- 
fectly unostentatious  manner  in  which  they  are  composed.  Indeed, 
we  know  not  where  we  could  find  collected,  in  so  narrow  compass, 
with  so  much  judgment,  and  with  so  little  parade,  the  results  of  the 
inquiries  of  so  many  distinguished  biblical  scholars.' — Chnstian  Ex" 
aminer. 


Friendly  Letters  to  a  Universalist,  on  Divine 
Rewards  and  Punishments.  By  Bernard  Wliitman. 
IGmo.  pp.  368. 

'  Though  this  work  was  hastily  written,  the  mata-ials  for  it  were 
collected  with  good  care  and  fidelity.  It  is  a  thorough  work.  It 
covers  the  whole  ground  of  Universalist  argument ;  and  gives  a  faith- 
ful expose  of  the  opposing  testimony  of  reason  and  Scripture.  The 
work  can  hardly  exasperate  those  against  whose  creed  it  is  aimed  ; 
for  a  spirit  of  courtesy  and  kindness  pervades  it.  Nor  can  one,  who 
already  believes  in  a  righteous  retribution,  fail  to  have  his  faith 
strengthened  by  so  able  a  defence  of  that  doctrine.' — American  Monthly 
Review. 


4  JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS. 

Palfrey's  Academical  Lectures.  Academical  Lec- 
tures on  the  Jewish  Scriptures  and  Antiquities.  By 
John  Gorham  Palfrey,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  Vol.  I.  The 
Last  Four  Books  of  the  Pentateuch.  Vol.  II.  Genesis 
and  Prophets.     8vo. 

*  The  first  volume  of  this  valuable,  learned,  and  elaborate  work  has 
just  publicly  appeared  in  a  truly  beautiful  form.  It  is  not  a  book  to 
be  lightly  read  or  lightly  spoken  of 

'  We  can  only  say  that,  from  the  time  of  its  announcement  as  being 
in  preparation,  general  expectation  has  been  highly  raised  in  regard 
to  it,  and  that,  as  far  as  we  have  examined  the  present  volume,  or 
heard  the  opinions  of  those  who  are  more  competent  to  pass  judg- 
ment upon  its  merits,  we  are  happy  to  believe  that  it  constitutes  a 
noble  addition  to  the  many  high  claims  of  its  distinguished  author  to 
public  esteem  and  honor,  as  a  scholar,  a  divine,  and  a  devoted  sup- 
porter of  American  Literature.' — N.  A.  Reviciv. 

Palfrey's  Lowell  Lectures.  Lowell  Lectures  on 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  By  John  Gorham  Pal- 
frey. With  a  discourse  on  the  Life  and  Character  of 
Jolui  Lowell,  Jr.     By  Edward  Everett.     2  vols.  8vo. 

Palfrey's  Sermons.  Sermons  on  Duties  belonging  to 
some  of  the  Conditions  and  Relations  of  Private  Life. 
By  John  G.  Palfrey,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Litera- 
ture in  the  University  of  Cambridge.     12mo. 

*■  These  discourses  of  Professor  Palfrey  are  entitled  to  an  honorable 
place  with  those  of  Barrow,  Tillotson,  Seeker,  and  Cappe.  And  they 
have  the  superior  advantage  of  presenting  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
volume — of  no  ordinary  typographical  beauty  —  a  natural  and  syste- 
matic arrangement  of  most  of  the  private  social  duties.  For  our- 
selves, we  have  penised  them  with  satisfaction  and  thankfulness  to 
the  author.' — Christian  Examiner. 


Worcester's  Last  Thoughts,  on  Important  Subjects. 
In  three  parts.  I.  Man's  Liability  to  Sin.  11.  Supple- 
mentary Illustrations.  III.  Man's  Capacity  to  Obey. 
By  Noah  Worcester,  D.  D.     16ino.  pp.  328. 

'  It  is  the  rare  merit  of  the  writer's  mind,  that,  although  always 
moving  onward  in  his  investigations,  he  moves  so  cautiously,  and  with 
such  reverence  for  the  truth,  and  such  distrust  of  himself,  that  his 
'■Last  Thoughts^  on  every  subject  are  invariably  his  best.' 

FoUen's  Works.  The  Works  of  Charles  FoUen ;  with 
a  Memoir  of  his  Life.     5  vols.  12mo. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AXD    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS.  0 

Greenwood's  Chapel  Liturgy.  A  Liturgy  for  the 
use  of  the  Church  at  Kiug's  Chapel  in  Boston ;  col- 
lected iirincipally  from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
Fifth  Edition ;  with  Family  Prayers  and  Sei-\aces,  and 
other  additions.     By  F.  W.  P.  Greenwood,  12mo. 

Greenwood's  Lives  of  the  Apostles.  Lives  of  the 
twelves  Apostles,  to  which  is  prefixed  a  Life  of  John 
the  Baptist.  By  F.  W.  P.  Greenwood.  Second  Edition. 
16mo.     With  plates. 

Greenwood's  Sermons.  Sermons  to  Children.  By 
F.  W.  P.  Greenwood,  D.  D.,  IMinister  of  King's  Chapel, 
Boston.     1  vol.  IGmo. 

'  A  work  of  this  sort  doubtless  requires  some  peculiar  gifts  of  the 
heart,  as  well  as  of  intellect ;  and  we  wish,  that  when  it  is  under- 
taken from  the  pulpit,  it  might  be  with  any  good  measure  of  the 
felicity  and  skill  with  which  Dr.  Greenwood  has  in  these  beautiful 
sermons  accomplished  it.  We  have  read  them  with  great  pleasure, 
and  what  is  more  to  the  puipose,  —  since  for  such  they  were  written, 
—  we  have  found  little  children  who  have  read  them  with  pleasure 
too.  In  the  judicious  selection  of  the  topics,  in  the  crystal  clearness 
of  the  style,  in  the  simplicity  and  beauty  of  the  thoughts,  and  the 
tone  of  seriousness  and  unfeigned  love  pervading  the  whole,  they 
furnish  a  model  for  such  addresses  to  the  pulpit.  We  can  commend 
the  volume  to  parents,  that  they  may  obtain  it  for  their  children,  and 
to  children,  that  they  may  read  it  for  themselves,  —  engaging  at  the 
same  time  that  they  shall  not  lind  it  '  hard  reading.' ' — Monthly 
MisrcUany. 

'  We  are  delighted  to  meet  with  a  volume  for  children  in  some  other 
form  than  a  story.  We  believe  these  Sermons  will  be  read  with  as 
much  interest  as  any  of  the  little  novels  with  which  the  press  teems, 
and  with  more  profit.' — Christian  Examiner. 


Sermons  on  Consolation.  By  F.  W.  P.  Greenwood, 
D.  D.,  JVIinister  of  King's  Chapel,  Boston.  Second 
Edition.     1  vol.  IGmo. 


The  Last  Days  of  the  Savior,  or  History  of  the 
Lord's  Passion.  From  tlie  German  of  Olshauseu, 
Translated  by  Rev.  S.  Osgood.     12mo. 

Sketch  of  the  Reformation.    By  Rev.  T.  B.  Fox. 

'  This  volume  contains  a  short  but  clear  narrative  of  the  lives  and 
labors  of  Luther,  Tetzel.  Melancthon,  Zwingle,  and  others. 
1* 


6  JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS. 

Channing's  Works.  The  Works  of  William  E.  Chan- 
ning,  D.  D.  First  complete  American  edition,  with  an 
Litroduction.     6  a^oIs.  12mo.     Five  Dollars. 

(IF="  This  edition  of  the  works  was  published  under  the  author's 
own  supervision. 

Channing's  Self-Culture.  Self- Culture.  By  W.  E. 
Channing.  With  a  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  author. 
16mo.  cloth,  gilt.     Price  37  1-2  cents. 

'  It  should  be  the  pocket  companion  of  every  young  man  in  the 
country,  and  to  be  found  on  every  lady's  centre  table.' — Cnltivator. 

'  It  is  indeed  a  gem  of  English  composition,  of  sound,  vigorous 
thought  and  pure  wisdom.' — Mobile  Register. 

'  Few  tracts  have  exerted  a  more  wide  and  salutary  influence  than 
Dr.  Channing's  lecture  on  Self- Culture.  It  is  a  powerful  statement 
of  encouraging  truths  set  forth  in  that  clear,  harmonious  and  impress- 
ive style  for  which  its  lamented  author  was  distinguished.  We  are 
happy  to  see  it  republished  in  so  neat  a  manner,  now  that  death  has 
consecrated  the  eloquent  lessons  it  conveys.  The  humblest  votary  of 
improvement  will  derive  consolation  and  guidance  from  its  pages.' — 
Boston  Miscellany. 

Practical  Ethics.  Human  Life,  or  Practical  Ethics, 
From  the  German  of  De  Wette.  Translated  by  Samuel 
Osgood.     2  vols.  12mo. 

'  These  lectures  have  long  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  in  Germany, 
and  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  we  hail  w  ith  unfeigned  pleasure  their 
publication  in  this  country.  They  are  eminently  original,  profound 
and  suggestive.' — New  World. 

'Those  interested  in  the  study  of  ethics,  will  find  in  the  present 
volumes,  a  beautiful  richness  of  illustration,  and  an  extended  con- 
sideration of  the  practical  duties  of  life ;  and  although  many  readers 
will  doubtless  dissent  from  some  of  the  avithor's  principles,  as  from 
his  application  of  them,  the  book  merits  a  reading,  as  exhibiting  the 
views  of  a  philosophical  and  independent  mind,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
those  which  prevail  to  a  great  extent  on  the  continent  of  Europe.' — 
American  Eclectic. 


Buckminster's  Works.  The  Works  of  Joseph  Ste- 
vens Buckminstcr ;  with  Memoirs  of  his  Life.  Li  two 
vols.  12mo. 

'  One  of  the  first  religious  books  we  remember  to  have  read  was 
the  first  volume  of  Buckminster's  Sermons ;  and  the  beautifully 
written  life  and  two  or  three  of  the  discourses  fixed  themselves  in  the 
mind,  as  nothing  is  fixed  there  save  in  our  early  years. 

'  His  sermons,  as  sermons,  are  certainly  surpassed  by  none  in  the 
language.' — Monthly  Miscellany. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS.  7 

De  Wette  on  the  Old  Testament.  A  Critical  and 
Historical  Introduction  to  the  Canonical  ScrijUnrcs  of 
the  Old  Testament.  From  the  German  of  De  Wette, 
Translated  and  enlarged  by  Theodore  Parker.  2  vols. 
8vo. 


Parker's  Miscellaneous  Writings.  The  Critical 
and  jMisccllaneous  AVritings  of  Theodore  Parker,  IMiii- 
ister  of  the  Second  Church  in  Pvoxbury. 

CoxTEXTS.  A  Lesson  for  the  Day;  German  Literature  ;  The  Life 
of  St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux ;  Truth  against  the  World :  Thoudits  on 
Labor;  A  Discourse  of  the  Transient  and  Permanent  in  Christianity; 
The  Pharisees ;  On  the  Education  of  the  Laborini,'  CU\ss  ;  How  to 
move  the  World ;  Primitive  Christianity ;  Strauss's  Life  of  Jesus  ; 
Thoughts  on  Theology.  — 

'  We  are  glad  to  see  these  miscellanies  republished,  and  think  all 
who  read  them  will  enjoy  their  spirit  even  when  they  disagree  with 
their  doctrines.  The  tone  of  earnest  conviction,  the  glow  of  feeling, 
the  occasional  beauty  of  expression  in  these  pages,  is  veiy  refreshing.' 
— Merchants'  Magazine. 

'  The  essays  are  written  in  a  style  which  combines  the  plainness  of 
CoBBEXT  whh  just  the  slightest  sprinkling  of  modern  literary  Euphu- 
ism ;  a  combination  less  unattractive  than  might  at  the  first  blush  be 
inferred  from  such  a  coalition.' — Knickerbocker. 

Parker's  Discourses.  A  Discourse  on  Matters  per- 
taining to  Pveligion.  By  Theodore  Parker,  Minister  of 
the  Second  Church  in  Iloxbury. 


Farr's  Counsels  and  Consolations :  Containing 
jNIeditations  and  Reflections  on  sixty-two  passages  of 
Scripture,  with  particular  reference  to  those  in  trouble 
and  affliction ;  to  Avhich  are  added  four  sermons,  suited 
to  persons  in  distressing  and  mournful  circumstances. 
By  Jonathan  Parr.  Second  Edition.  Enlarged  by 
several  Prayers,  and  an  Address  to  those  who  have 
been  afflicted.     1  vol.  l&mo. 

•  This  volume  is  eminently  a  work  of  compassion,  it  is  medicine, 
food,  and  air  for  the  afflicted  lonely  ones.  That  medicine  is  com- 
pounded of  ingredients  gathered  in  the  garden  of  the  Lord  :  that  food 
is  the  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven  ;  that  air  is  the  zephyry 
odor,  which  comes  from  the  paradise  of  God.  Let  the  mentally 
debilitated  take,  eat,  breathe,  and  revive.' — London  Christian  Pioneer. 


8  JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS. 

An  Oifering  of  Sympathy  to  the  Afflicted:  Es- 
pecially to  Parents  bereaved  of  their  Childi-en.  Being 
a  collection  from  Manuscripts  never  before  published. 
With  an  Appendix  of  Extracts.  By  Francis  Parkraan. 
Third  Edition.     18mo. 

'  Though  small,  it  is  rich  in  comfort  and  instruction.  Prepared  by 
the  editor  in  a  season  of  peculiar  personal  affliction,  it  contains  many 
of  his  own  thoughts,  with  the  judicious  selections  which  he  made 
from  boots  from  which  he  drew  consolation,  besides  the  original 
articles  which  at  his  request  were  furnished  by  his  brethren  in  the 
ministry.  In  the  present  edition  not  only  is  the  Appendix  —  of  Ex- 
tracts—  enlarged,  but  an  original  article  is  given  not  found  in  the 
former  editions.' — Monthly  Miscellamj. 

'  We  are  not  suiprised  that  Dr.  Parkman's  excellent  little  volume 
has  reached  a  third  edition.  It  has  carried  comfort  to  many  a  heart. 
We  wish  it  well  on  its  errand  of  peace.' — Christian  Examiner. 

'  A  volume  deserving  a  cordial  welcome  to  every  house  and  heart. 
The  variety  of  thought  and  expression,  and  yet  the  perfect  harmony 
of  tone  of  feeling  which  marks  this  spiritual  wreath  for  a  christian 
cemetery,  will  make  it  live  and  bloom  as  long  as  sorrow  is  known.' — 
HunCs  Masrazine. 


The  Holy  Land  and  its  Inhabitants.    By  S.  G. 

Bulfinch.  Being  a  description  of  this  interesting  coun- 
tr}^  and  also  a  History  of  it,  Ancient  and  Modern,  its 
Antiquities,  &c.  &c. 

Lives  of  Eminent  Unitarians ;  with  a  Notice  of 
Dissenting  Academies,  containing  Lives  of  Robertson, 
Palmer,  Priestley,  Price,  and  others.  By  the  Kev.  W. 
Turner,  Jnn,,  M.  A.     2  vols.  12mo, 


Henry  Ware,  Jr.  Views  of  Christian  Trnth,  Piety, 
and  Morality,  selected  from  the  Writings  of  Dr.  Priest- 
ley. With  a  Memoir  of  his  Life.  By  Henry  Ware, 
Jr.    ,12mo.  pp.  288. 

'  Mr.  Ware  has  here  erected  a  noble  and  enduring  monument  of  the 
pure  and  truly  Christian  character  of  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  single- 
hearted  of  Christian  confessors.  The  Memoir,  compiled  for  the  most 
part  from  Dr.  Priestley's  own  letters,  and  other  writings,  and  drawn 
up  with  care,  is  interesting  throughout,  and  full  of  instruction.  The 
same  may  also  be  said  of  the  selection  of  sermons,  and  other  pieces 
which  make  up  the  body  of  the  work ;  for  they  are  almost  exclusively 
practical,  and  present 'views  of  Christian  truth,  piety,  and  morality, 
remarkable  for  their  good  sense,  strictness,  and  discrimination." — 
Christian  Examiner. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    rUBLIC ATIONS.  9 

Ware  on  Christian  Character.  On  the  FormatioQ 
of  Christian  Character,  addressed  to  those  who  are 
seekino;  to  k^ad  a  Rehofions  Life.  By  Ilcmy  Ware, 
Jr.,  D.  D.     Twelfth  Edition.     Ibmo. 


Henry  Ware,  Jr.'s  Hints  on  Extemporaneous 
Preaching,  with  mlcs  for  its  govcrnnieut.  Tliird 
Edition. 

•  It  is  the  object  of  this  little  \vork  to  draw  the  attention  of  those 
who  are  preparing  for  the  Christian  ministry,  or  who  have  just 
entered  it,  to  a  mode  of  preaching,  which  the  writer  thinks  has  been 
too  much  discountenanced  and  despised ;  but  which  under  proper 
restrictions,  he  is  persuaded  may  add  greatly  to  the  opportunities  of 
ministerial  usefulness.' — IVie  Preface. 


Ware's  Life  of  the  Savior.  The  Life  of  the  Savior. 
By  Henry  AVare,  Jr.,  Professor  of  Pulpit  Eloquence 
and  the  Pastoral  Care  in  Haixard  University.  2^P-  ^^^' 
Fourth  Edition.     Ibmo. 

*  If  we  can  suppose  any  person  to  be  a  stranger  to  the  Gospel  his- 
torians, in  a  Christian  land,  we  think  Professor  Ware's  narrative  with 
its  illustrations  would  be  to  such  a  person  a  work  of  unequalled  in- 
terest in  biography,  provided  he  possessed  a  common  share  of  moral 
sensibility.  To  one  somewhat  acquainted  with  those  histories,  perused, 
as  they  usually  are,  under  great  disadvantages  in  our  common  ver- 
sion, in  small,  detaclied  portions,  and  without  any  helps,  this  '  Life  of 
the  Savior '  affords  assistance,  in  various  ways,  at  once  in  a  more 
popular  and  a  more  intelligible  form  than  can  elsewhere  be  found,  so 
far  as  we  know.  This  volume  is  intended  particularly  for  the  young; 
but  it  is  a  valuable  aid  to  every  reader  of  the  Gospels ;  an  aid  to  the 
understanding  of  them,  and  an  aid  to  reflections  upon  their  truths.  It 
unites,  in  some  good  measure,  the  advantages  of  a  paraphrase  and  a 
commentary-,  without  the  feebleness  of  the  former,  or  the  dryness  of 
the  latter,' — American  Monthly  Review. 

Henry  Ware,  Jr's,  Scenes  and  Characters,  Illus- 
trating Christian  Truth.  In  a  series  of  Tales,  each 
number  complete  in  itself  To  he  had  separately. 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  H.  AVare,  Jr. 

'  If  we  may  judge  of  this  series  of  little  works  from  the  two  numbers 
which  have  appeared,  we  should  say  that  it  bids  fair  to  be  eminently 
useful,  and  to  realize  whatever  we  might  expect  from  the  high 
character  of  the  writers  engaijed.  They  should  be  read.  Whoever 
contributes  at  all  to  circulate  them  does  good  to  the  public' — Boston 
■Daily  Advaiiser, 


10    JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

1.  TRIAL  AND  SELF-DISCIPLINE.    By  Miss  Savage,  Author  of  <  James 
Talbot.' 

'Kthe  remaining  numbers  shall  be  executed  with  the  same  skill, 
and  the  same  deep  religious  feelings  which  pervade  the  first,  these 
little  volnmes  will  be  an  important  addition  to  the  works  which  make 
religion  attractive  and  lovely.' — Christian  Register. 

2.  THE  SKEPTIC.    By  Mrs.  FoUen,  Author  of '  The  Well-spent  Hour.' 

'  This  is  an  admirable  little  book,  which  no  one  will  dip  into  without 
reading  through,  and  no  one  will  read  through  without  being  improved 
and  delighted.  The  argumentative  portions  are  clear  and  forcible,  and 
are  naturally  and  skillfully  interwoven  with  the  web  of  the  story. 
The  characters  are  conceived  and  sustained  wonderfully  well,  and 
never  were  the  Christian  graces  more  beautifully  and  consistently 
displayed  than  in  the  life  and  conversation  of  Alice  Grey.  We  owe  a 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  writer  who  gives  us  so  natural  and  true  a  pic- 
ture of  the  influence  of  Christianity  upon  our  daily  and  hourly  duties, 
and  of  the  mighty  power  which  it  bestows  upon  the  character  and 
affections.' — Boston  Observer. 

a.  HOME.    By  Miss  Sedg^viclt,  Author  of  '  Redwood,'  &c. 

'  The  influence  of  an  enlightened  mind  and  pure  heart  is  shed,  like 
sunshine,  over  all  that  Miss  Sedgwick  writes.' — BIrs.  Child. 

'  One  of  the  sweetest  homely  pictures  of  domestic  life  among  the 
middle  classes  of  New  England,  which  it  is  possible  to  imagine,  and 
one  full  of  the  instruction  which  makes  a  way  to  the  heart.' — TaiVs 
Magazine. 

4.  GLEAMS  OF  TRUTH.    By  the  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman,  D.  D. 

'  This  little  work  differs  from  its  predecessors  in  being  not  a  ficti- 
tious and  connected  narrative,  but  a  collection  of  detached  facts, 
anecdotes,  and  conversations,  which  actually  occurred  within  the 
writer's  own  experience.     This  difference,  while  it  adds  to  its  value, 

will  not  make  it  less  interesting,  but  the  contrary Truth 

is  strange,  and  stranger  than  fiction,  and  the  most  creative  imagina- 
tion could  not  have  conceived  more  striking  and  consistent  illustra- 
tions of  Christian  character  than  are  here  presented  to  us  to  admire 

and  imitate Nothing  can  be  more  elevating,  inspiring,  and 

encouraging,  than  the  instances  which  he  has 'here  given  us.' — Boston 
Observer. 

§.  THE  BACKSLIDER.    By  tlie  Author  of  the '  Hugcnots,'  &c. 

'  The  Blackslider  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity on  minds  differently  constituted,  particularly  on  the  two  prin- 
cipal characters  of  the  story.  In  Anna  Hope,  we  see  its  effects  on  a 
mind  naturally  well  balanced.  In  Walter.we  see  the  good  seed  scat- 
tered on  the  thin  soil ;  and  it  is  the  aim  of  the  writer  to  show  where 
the  lack  of  root  is.'  '  Such  fictions  as  the  one  before  us,  by  their 
faithful  and  graphic  representations  of  human  nature,  affect  us  for 
the  time  like  reality.' — Christian  Examiner. 


JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY  S  PUBLICATIONS.    11 


6.  ALFRED ;  or,  the  Effects  of  True  Repentance.    And  the  BETTER 
PART.    By  the  Author  of  '  Sophia  Morton.' 


Mrs.  Farrar's  Life  of  John  Howard,  the  Philan- 
■    thropist,  with  a  Preface  by  Eev.  Henry  Ware,  Jr. 

This  volume  gives  an  interestins;  narrative  of  the  Life  and  also  of 
the  various  undertakings  of  this  eminent  philanthropist ;  it  is  written 
with  all  the  vigor  of  the  other  works  of  its  author. 


Memoir  of  Rev.  Joseph  Tuckerman,  ( INIinister  to 
the  Poor.)     By  Rev.  W.  E.  Channing.     Ibino. 

Jouffroy's  Ethics.  Introduction  to  Ethics :  including 
a  Critical  Sur\'ey  of  oVIoral  Systems.  Translated  from 
the  French  of  Jouffroy.     By  William  H.  Channing. 

This  work  consists  of  a  critical  review  of  rarious  ethical  systems ; 
aiming  to  give  a  fair  view  of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  each,  with 
especial  regard  to  the  particular  points  wherein  lay  the  faultiness  of 
each.  To  every  student  of  moral  philosophy,  and  of  the  history  of 
the  human  mind,  such  a  sketch  must  be  of  very  great  interest  and 
value. 

Bumap's  Lectures  to  Young  Men;  on  the  culti- 
vation of  the  iVIind,  the  formation  of  Character,  and 
the  Conduct  of  Life.  Second  Edition.  By  George  W, 
Bumap.     1  vol.  12mo. 

'  Remarkable  for  the  intelligent  spirit  which  they  display,  and  the 
sound  moral  instructions  conveyed.' — Phila.  Ledger. 

Lectures  on  the  Sphere  and  Duties  of  Woman, 

and  other  subjects.     By  George  W.   Burnap.     1  vol. 
12mo. 

'  The  duties  of  Women,  and  especially  of  American  females,  are 
ably  defined,  and  correctly  animadverted  on.  We  take  pleasure  in 
recommending  it  as  a  work  that  all  parents  should  place  in  the  hands 
of  their  daughters,  and  the  husband  in  that  of  his  wife.' — N.  Y.  Lady's 
Companion. 

'  We  commend  the  book  to  the  attention  of  every  female,  whether 
young  or  old,  and  whatever  station  she  may  fill.  They  will  find  a 
true  friend  in  the  author,  and  cannot  fail  to  draw  improvement  from 
his  Jidmonitions.' — Boston  Courier. 


Lectures  on  the  History  of  Christianity.    By 

George  W.  Burnap.     1  vol.  12  mo. 


12        JAMES    MUNROE    ANJ)    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

Memoir  of  James  Jackson,  Jr.  M,  D.  wiitten  by 
his  Father,  ^vith  extracts  from  his  Letters,  and  remi- 
niscences of  him  by  a  Fellow  Student.     18mo. 


Memoir  of  Natlianiel  Bowditch,  (the  Mathemati- 
cian.)    18mo. 

De"wey's  Sermons.  Discourses  on  various  subjects. 
By  liev.  Orville  Dewey.     3  vols.  12mo. 

W.  H.  Furness.  Jesus  and  his  Biographers ;  or  the 
remarks  on  the  Four  Gospels,  revised  with  copious 
additions.     By  W.  H.  Furness.     1  vol.  8vo. 


Ripley's  Specimens  of  Foreign  Standard  Literature. 
Edited  by  George  Pdpley.     14  vols.  12mo. 

Volumes  12  and  13,  containing  De  WETTE'S  HUMAN 
LIFE.     See  page  6. 

Volume  14.     SONGS  AND  BALLADS.     With  notes. 
Translated  by  Charles  T.  Brooks. 

The   Unitarian.      Conducted  by  Bernard   "Whitman. 
8vo.  pp.  590. 

Meditations  for  the  Sick.   By  Jonathan  Cole.    1 8mo. 


Tracts  of  the  American  Unitarian  Association. 

Li  15  vols.  12mo. 


Christian  Disciple.    6  volumes,  8vo. 
Christian  Examiner,  complete  to  1844.    35  vols. 

The  pages  of  this  work  have  been  enriched  by  contributions  from 
the  pens  of  Worcester,  Channing,  Norton,  Greenwood,  Ware,  and 
others. 


Henry  Ware,  D.  D.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Foundation, 
Evidences,  and  Truths  of  Pvcligion.  By  Henry  Ware, 
D.  D.,  late  Hollis  Professor  of  Divinity  in  Harvard 


College.     2  vols.  12mo, 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY  S    PUBLICATIONS.  13 


Theodore;  or  the  Skeptic's  Conversion.  Translated 
from  the  German  of  De  Wette.  By  James  F.  Clarke. 
2  vols.  12mo. 

Sparks's  Essays  and  Tracts.  A  Collection  of  Es- 
says- and  Tracts  in  Theology.  From  varions  Anthors, 
with  Biographical  and  Critical  Notices.  By  Jared 
Sparks.     6  vols.  12mo. 

Unitarian  Miscellany,  and  Christian  Monitor.  Edited 
by  Rev.  Jared  Sparks,  and  Rev.  F.  W.  P.  Greenwood. 
6  vols.  12mo. 


The  Young  Maiden.  By  Rev.  A.  B.  Mnzzey.  Fourth 
Edition. 

'It  will  be  perused  with  advantage  by  the  class  for  whom  it  is 
especially  designed,  and  will  secure  the  favorable  judgment  of  their 
most  judicious  friends.' — Loyidon  Inquirer. 

The  Young  Man's  Friend.  By  A.  B.  Mnzzey,  18mo. 
Second  Edition. 

Week  Day  Religion.  By  Rev.  Bernard  Whitman. 
18mo. 

Gieseler's  Text  Book  of  Ecclesiastical  Histoiy.  By  J. 
C.  I.  Gieseler,  Doctor  of  Philosophy  and  Theolog}% 
and  Professor  of  Theology  in  Gottingen.  Tmnslated 
from  the  Third  German  Edition  by  Fmncis  Cunning- 
ham.    3  vols.  8vo. 

Observations  on  the  Bible,  for  the  use  of  Young  Per- 
sons.    ISmo. 


Locke  on  the  Epistles.  A  Paraphrase  and  Notes 
on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Galatians,  First  and 
Second  Corinthians,  Pvomans,  and  Ejihesians.  To 
which  is  prefixed  an  Essay  for  the  Undorslanding  of 
St.  Paul's  Epistles,  by  consulting  St.  Paul  himself  By 
John  Locke.     8vo.  pp.  4-56. 

The  Dial.     Published  quarterly,  16  numbers  now  out. 
Edited  by  R.  W.  Emerson. 
C:^  A  few  complete  sets  only  remaining  on  hand. 

2 


14        JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

JUST  PXTBIiISHED. 

LECTURES 

ON 

CHRISTIAN    DOCTRINE. 

By  Andrew  P.  Peabody,   Pastor  of  the    South  Church, 
Portsmouth.     1  vol.  12mo. 

ENDEAVORS 

AFTER  THE 

CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

A  Volume  of  Discourses  by  James  Martmeau.     12mo. 

Contents.  The  Spirit  of  Life  in  Jesus  Christ;  The  Besetting 
God  ;  Great  Principles  and  Small  Duties  ;  Eden  and  Gethsemane  ;. 
Sorrow  no  Sin ;  Christian  Peace ;  Religion  on  False  Pretences ; 
Mammon  Worship ;  The  Kingdom  of  God  within  us,  Part  I ;  The 
Kingdom  of  God  within  us,  Part  II ;  The  Contentment  of  Sorrow ; 
Imrnortality ;  The  Communion  of  Saints ;  Christ's  Treatment  of 
Guilt;  The  Strength  of  the  Lonely;  Hand  and  Heart;  Silence  and 
Meditation  ;  Winter  Worship  ;  The  Great  Year  of  Providence  ;  Christ 
and  the  Little  Child  ;  The  Christianity  of  Old  Age  ;  Nothing  Human 
ever  Dies.  — 

'  These  discourses  form  part  of  an  extensive  plan ;  and  may  be  con- 
sidered not  so  much  a  separate  work,  as  an  introduction  to  a  complete 
treatise  on  the  Christian  character  and  life.  Their  object  is  to  awaken 
the  Christian  spirit,  rather  than  to  describe  the  perfect  Christian  life  ; 
and  while  they  inculcate  specific  duties  and  warn  against  specific 
sins,  their  leading  design  is  to  excite  and  strengthen  the  devout  spirit 
that  will  lead  us. always  to  perform  all  duties. 

'  We  recommend  the  volume  to  our  readers  as  the  production  of  an 
enlightened  Christian  mind,  full  of  earnestness  and  power  and  love  of 
souls.  It  was  composed  because  the  author  had  something  to  say  on 
the  highest  subjects  of  human  thought,  because  his  heart  overflows 
with  sympathy  for  the  ills  of  man,  and  because  he  has  felt  for  himself 
the  blessedness  of  laboring  for  their  removal.  He  is  an  enthusiast ; 
but  an  intelligent  one,  who  does  not  expect  to  remove  social  evils  by 
the  application  of  any  fine-spun  political  system,  but  by  awakening 
in  each  individual  heart  some  mighty  emotion,  that  shall  lead  to  the 
reformation  of  that  individual  life. 

'  The  discourses  on  the  Kingdom  of  God  within  us,  on  Great  Prin- 
k  ciples  and  Small  Duties,  on  Immortality  and  the  Great  Year  of  Provi- 
dence, are  particularly  interesting  and  instructive.' — Monthly  Miscellany. 

LETTERS    ON    EPISCOPACY.     By  Jared    Sparks. 
Second  Edition,  with  large  additions.     1  vol.  12mo. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS.  15 

NEW  HYMN  BOOK. 

The  Social  Hymn  Book,  consistinjr  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns,  for  Social  Worship  and  Private  Devotion. 
With  28  pages  music. 

'  It  is  designed  to  supply  the  want  which  is  believed  to  be  increasini]:, 
of  a  small  and  cheap  Hymn  Book  for  vestry  meetings,  and  for  parishes 
that  are  unable  to  procure  more  expensive  collections.' — The  Preface. 

'  The  collection  contains  3C0  Hymns,  14  Doxologies,  21  Sacred 
tunes.  There  are  somewhat  more  than  130  of  the  Hymns  which  are 
not  found  in  Dr.  Greenwood's,  of  these  a  portion  are  found  in  some  of 
the  other  collections  :  a  part  of  them  are  truly  exquisite  and  beautiful, 
and  ought  to  appear  in  every  collection. 

'  The  hymns  which  Mr.  Robbins  has  introduced,  in  general  do 
credit  to  his  taste  and  reading.  Some  of  those  from  Bishop  Mant's 
Collection  of  Ancient  Hymns  seem  harsh  to  most  readers  on  a  first 
perusal,  but  familiarity  renders  them  highly  attractive  and  stores  the 
heart  with  rich  and  beautiful  sentiments.' — Christian  Register. 

'  In  looking  over  this  work,  we  are  happy  to  recognize  a  number 
of  our  favorite  hymns,  the  omission  of  which  in  other  collections 
we  have  always  regretted.  The  Book  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  con- 
ference room,  and  is  at  the  same  time  well  adapted,  as  it  is  in  part 
intended, '  for  parishes  that  are  unable  to  procure  more  expensive  col- 
lections.' ' — Salem  Observer. 

'  This  is  an  admirable  selection  of  devotional  hymns,  and  will, 
doubtless,  become  a  favorite  one  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
designed.  The  collection  was  made  by  Rev.  Chandler  Robbins,  of 
this  city,  whose  name,  alone,  is  a  sufficient  guaranty  for  its  excel- 
lence. We  hail  this  little  work,  as  one  among  the  signs  we  daily  see, 
of  interest  in  the  work  of  enlivening  the  whole  Church,  and  bringing 
us  all  into  an  active,  visible  cooperation, 

'  We  ought  to  say  in  addition,  that  at  the  close  of  the  book  are 
placed  some  twenty,  or  more,  of  the  most  beautiful  and  popular  tunes 
used  at  social  religious  meetings.' — Christian  World. 

'  We  welcome,  with  the  rest,  the  graceful  little  volume  before  us,  as 
supplying  a  want,  which  has  been  sensibly  felt  in  a  department  of  our 
social  worship,  and  as  well  adapted  to  private  and  domestic  devotion. 
The  excellence  of  its  typographical  execution  invites  attention,  which 
will  be  amply  rewarded  by  its  skillfully  selected  and  arranged  con- 
tents. 

'  For  infant  and  feeble  parishes,  '  unable  to  procure  more  expen- 
sive collections ; '  for  the  meetings  of  the  vestry  and  all  other  social 
services  among  Christians  ;  for  the  private  and  domestic  altar  we 
cordially  recommend  the  Selection  before  us.  It  unites  the  indispen- 
sable grace  of  a  Christian  spirit,  by  which  it  is  pervaded,  with  poetic 
beauty ;  and  so  entire  is  its  freedom  from  doubtful  or  sectarian  phrase- 
ology, that  it  may  easily  become  the  manual,  and  a  favorite  one  too,  of 
Christians  of  various  denominations.' — Monthly  Miscellany. 

D^"  Already  used  in  several  parishes.  Copies  furnished  to  clergy 
and  others,  for  examination. 


16    JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


MANUALS 

FOR 

SABBATH   SCHOOLS. 

Livermore's  Commentary.    2  vols.     See  page  1. 

A  Catechism  of  Natural  Theolo^.  By  I.  Nichols. 
D.  D.,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  Portland.  Third 
Edition,  with  additions  and  improvements.  12mo. 
Plates. 

*  Dr.  Nichols  has  prefixed  to  his  work  the  appropriate  motto,  *  Every 
house  is  builded  by  some  man  ;  but  he  that  buih  aU  things  is  God;' 
and  the  work  is  a  very  happy  illustration  of  its  motto.  It  is  devoted 
principally  to  an  examination  of  the  human  frame,  and  it  is  shown 
that  the  conformation  of  its  various  parts,  and  their  adaptation  to  the 
purposes  which  they  are  known  to  serve,  could  not  have  happened 
without  the  design  of  an  intelligent  Creator.  It  is  better  adapted  to 
the  comprehension  of  youth  and  common  readers,  than  the  more 
elaborate  and  extended  treatises  of  Paley  and  others ;  and  next  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  useful  fields  of 
contemplation  which  could  be  spread  out  before  them.  If  any  person 
can  peruse  this  little  book  without  feeling  a  kindred  emotion,  and 
forming  a  similar  puipose,  the  fact  would  be  an  affecting  proof  of  the 
alienation  of  the  heart  from  its  Maker.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
Atheism  is  among  the  spreading  errors  of  our  land,  we  see  an  addi- 
tional reason  for  directing  our  youth  to  such  intellectual  pursuits,  as 
will  furnish  the  best  defences  against  this  arch  heresy  ;  and  such  we 
regard  the  contents  of  the  work  vmder  review.  We  are  glad  that  a 
new  edition  of  the  work  has  been  demanded,  and  that  it  makes  its 
appearance  in  a  style  of  execution  so  worthy  of  its  matter.' — Chris- 
tian Mirror,  Portland,  Me. 

Hints  to  Sunday  School  Teachers,  in  a  series  of 
Familiar  Lectures.  By  Kev.  T.  B.  Fox.  ISmo.  price 
25  cents. 

Allen's  Questions.     Parts  1,  2,  and  3.     18mo. 

Walker's  Service  Book.    l8mo. 

Fox's  Sunday  School  Prayer  Book.     l8mo. 

Child's  Duties  and  Devotions.     l8mo. 

The  Ministry  of  Christ,  with  Questions.  By  Rev. 
T.  B.  Fox.     18mo. 


JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS.    17 

Peabody's  Sunday  School   Hymn  Book.     l8mo. 

Channing's,  Worcester  Association,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Carj)eDter's  Catechisms. 

Life  of  the  Savior.     By  Rev.  H.  Ware,  Jr.     18mo. 

See  page  9 

Scripture  Truths  in  Questions  and  Answers,  for  the 
use  of  Sunday  Schools  and  Families.      ISmo.  pp.  75. 

'  The  writer  of  this  little  manual  has  not  attempted  to  do  better 
"VN'here  others  have  done  well.  Nor  is  this  simply  another  Sunday 
School  book  —  though  that  would  be  no  objection.  It  is  in  fact  a 
new  Sunday  School  book.  It  enters  a  province  which  has  heretofore 
been  kept  shut,  at  least  in  the  schools  of  Liberal  Christians  ;  viz.  the 
province  of  doctrine.  =*  *  *  With  these  views  we  welcome  this  book. 
Every  question  that  is  apt  to  arise,  concerning  God,  Christ,  Faith, 
Ordinances,  Prayer,  Repentance,  &c.  &c.,  is  answered  by  a  passage  of 
Scripture  ;  and  there  are  very  few  passages  that  do  not  contain  fair 
answers  and  sufficient  exposition  for  the  young.  The  controverted 
and  most  difficult  texts  are  more  fully  explained,  yet  with  great  sim-r 
plicity,  in  notes,  and  also  an  Appendix.  In  the  hands  of  well  in- 
structed and  judicious  teachers,  no  one,  we  think,  would  doubt  the 
utility  of  such  a  manual.  In  families,  to  be  used  by  parents,  it  is 
excellent.  Indeed  for  general  use  we  feel  free  to  commend  it.  The 
plan  and  execution  as  a  whole  we  like,  and  hope  a  fair  trial  will  be 
given  it.' — Monthly  Miscellany. 

'  We  are  ignorant  of  the  name  of  the  Author  of  this  little  book,  but 
we  think  he  has  done  good  service  to  the  cause  of  religious  instruC' 
tion.  We  are  not  in  favor  of  the  multiplication  of  manuals  for  the 
use  of  Sunday  Schools,  but  the  arrangement  and  plan  of  this  work, 
are  such  as  to  make  it  a  valuable  assistant  to  any  parent  and  Sunday 
School  Teacher.' — Christian  Register. 

The  Sunday  School  Guide.      By  A.   B.   Muzzey. 
18mo. 


J.  M.  &  Co.  being  engaged  in  the  publication  of 
Juvenile  Works,  can  offer  to  individuals  and  others, 
selecting  for  Sabbath,  School,  and  District  Libraries, 
superior  advantages.  And  they  keep  constantly  on 
hand  the  largest  assortment  of  Juveniles  to  be  found, 
embracing  all  the  works  by  Maiy  Howitt,  Mrs.  Ellis, 
Aunt  Kitty,  Charlotte  Elizabeth,  the  Abbotts,  and  others ; 
all  of  which  will  be  sold  at  a  LARGE  DISCOUNT, 
from  the  trade  prices. 

[I^  3000  volumes  now  on  hand. 
2* 


18        JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

MANUALS 

FOR 

DAILY  DEVOTION, 

Hours  for  Heaven :  a  small  but  choice  Selection  of 
Prayers,  from  Eminent  Divines  of  the  Chnrch  of  Eng- 
land. Intended  as  a  Devotional  Companion  for  Young 
Persons.     32mo.  gilt  edges. 

*  This  is  a  little  manual  of  devotion,  consisting  of  prayers  and 
meditations  for  each  day  in  the  week,  with  additions  of  prayers  for 
particular  occasions. 

'  To  the  prayers  are  added  many  miscellaneous  pieces  in  prose  and 
verse,  suited  for  aids  to  devotion ;  and,  lastly,  several  weighty  religious 
aphorisms. 

'  There  are  here  and  there  forms  of  invocation,  and  single  expres- 
sions, from  which  we  dissent ;  but  the  spirit,  and,  with  few  exceptions, 
the  language,  is  such  that  we  do  not  fear  to  recommend  the  book  to 
serious  Christians  of  all  denominations.' — Christian  Bcgister. 

'  A  choice  selection  of  prayers  from  eminent  Divines  which  is 
designed  as  a  devotional  companion.  It  is  an  elegant  little  volume, 
nicely  printed  and  bound,  and  its  contents  will  be  very  acceptable  to 
any  that  may  read  them  occasionally,  as  designed.' — Ploughman. 

Farr's  Prayers.  Forms  of  Morning  and  Evening 
Prayer,  composed  for  the  use  of  Families.  By  Jona- 
than Farr.     16mo.  pp.  174. 

'  The  '  Forms  of  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer'  are  among  the  best 
that  have  come  under  our  notice,  —  at  once  calm  and  fervent,  scriptu- 
ral and  rational ;  for  which  reason  we  doubt  not  that  they  will  find 
general  favor  among  those  who  are  accustomed  to  avail  themselves  of 
such  helps  to  private  or  domestic  devotion.  The  volume  is  very 
neatly  printed  and  done  up,  and  contains  prayers  for  every  day  in  a 
fortnight,  and  eight  morning  and  evening  prayers  for  any  day  in  the 
week,  and  a  great  variety  of  occasional  prayers  for  families,  and  for 
individuals.' —  Christian  Examiner. 


Sewell's  Daily  Devotions,  for  a  Family,  with  occa- 
sional Prayers.     Second  Edition.     12mo. 

Greenwood's  Chapel  Liturgy ;  collected  principally 
from  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  Fifth  Edition; 
with  Family  Prayers  and  Sendees,  and  other  Addi- 
tions.    ByF.  W.  P.  Greenwood.     12mo. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS.         19 

Brooks's  Prayers.  A  Family  Prayer  Book,  and  Pri- 
vate Manual ;  to  which  are  added,  Forms  for  Pveligions 
Societies  and  Schools,  with  a  Collection  of  Hymns. 
By  Charles  Brooks,  Minister  of  the  Tliird  Church  in 
Hingham,  Massachusetts.     12mo. 

'  Both  as  to  its  substance  and  form,  it  is  a  work  of  an  excellent 
design,  and  well  calculated  to  answer  its  design;  and  considering  how 
much  it  is  wanted  among  us.  and  how  much  good  it  may  do,  we  are 
happy  in  having  this  opportunity  to  recommend  it  most  cordially.' — 
Christian  Disciple. 


Bowring's  Matins  and  Vespers ;  with  Hymns  and 
Occasional  Devotional  Pieces,  By  John  Bo^vring. 
London.     18mo.     Price  50  cents. 

•  There  is  in  them  a  frequent  display,  or  rather  the  presence  without 
the  display,  of  a  tenderness  and  pathos,  an  elegant  simplicity  and 
devotional  feeling,  which  win  upon  the  heart,  and  sometimes  touch  it 
as  with  strains  from  unearthly  worlds.  There  is  no  drama,  no  tale, 
no  controversy  in  these  poems ;  they  are  truly  '  Matins  and  Vespers.' 
They  charm  by  their  modesty  and  sensibility,  and  by  a  deep  venera- 
tion of,  and  an  ardent  expression  of  gratitude  toward,  our  Almighty 
Creator,  Preserver,  and  Benefactor.  Many  of  the  pictures  in  them  of 
the  love  and  compassion  of  God  toward  his  creatures  are  truly  beau- 
tiful and  affecting.' — Chnstian  Observer,  London. 


Fnrness's  Domestic  Worship.  By  W.  H.  Furness, 
Pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Unitarian  Church 
in  Philadelphia.     Second  Edition.     12mo. 

'  The  prayers  are  divided  into  sections  and  are  not  specially  appro- 
priated to  the  several  days  of  the  week;  that  opportunity  may  be 
given  for  selection,  omission,  and  variety.' — The  Preface. 

The  Social  Hymn  Book ;  consisting  of  Psalms  and 
Hymns  for  Social  Worship  and  Private  Devotion. 
Compiled  by  Rev.  Chandler  Bobbins.     18mo. 

Devotional  Exercises.  Compiled  by  J.  T.  Bucking- 
ham.    18mo.     Third  Edition. 

•  We  like  this  little  volume  extremely.  The  plan  is  happy  and  it  is 
executed  with  exceedingly  good  judgment  and  taste.' — JSf.  A.  Review. 

'  This  unpretending  little  volume  is  compiled  from  the  Book  of 
Proverbs,  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  the  Gospels.  The  compiler  has 
executed  his  task  with  excellent  judgment,  and  we  most  heartily 
recommend  it.' — Salem  Observer. 


20         JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 

HISTORY 

OF    THE 

HAWAIIAN  OR  SANDWICH  ISLANDS, 

Embracing  their  Antiquities,  Legends,  Discovery  by 
Europeans  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  Rediscovery  by 
Cook,  with  their  Civil,  Religious,  and  Political  History, 
from  the  earliest  period  to  the  present  time.  By 
James  Jackson  Jarves,  Member  of  the  Am.  Oriental 
Society.     With  Maps  and  Plates.     8vo. 

'  The  book  is  carefully  prepared  and  furnishes  a  highly  attractive 
narrative.  The  ground  over  which  the  author  has  pas-sed  has  been 
almost  entirely  untrod  before  him,  and  the  history  will  be  quite  new, 
w^e  believe,  to  almost  all  readers.  It  is  a  history  full  of  its  passages 
of  romance,  —  for  these  islands  have  not  been  exempted  from  the 
stirring  excitements  of  larger  communities.'— jBos^on  Daily  Advertiser. 

'  The  work  bears  the  marks  of  great  attention  and  patient  research; 
the  narrative  is  easy,  flowing,  and  spirited,  in  a  style  adapted  to  the 
subject.' — Philadelphia  Christian  Observer. 

'  Mr.  J.  has  produced  an  excellent  and  permanently  valuable  book.' 
— Boston  Recorder. 

'  It  supplies  a  deficiency  in  our  literature,  and  is  finished  in  such  a 
manner  that  it  will  not  have  to  be  done  again.  This  work  will  be  a 
favorite ;  it  affords  information  not  easily  found  elsewhere,  and  if 
attainable  at  all^  only  to  be  collected  by  great  labor,  and  from  a  variety 
of  sources.' — Baptist  Memorial  and  Monthly  Chronicle. 


N.    HAWTHORNE'S    TAVICE    TOLD    TALES.     2 

vols.  12mo.       Cloth. 

'  A  whole  volume  of  collected  Miscellanies  of  great  merit  is  before 
us.  We  mean  Mr.  Hawthorne's  '  Twice  Told  Tales,'  which  will  one 
day  or  other  be  naturalized  into  our  Library  of  Romance,  if  truth, 
fancy,  pathos,  and  originality,  have  any  longer  power  to  diffiise  a 
reputation.  He  has  caught  the  true  fantastic  spirit,  which  somewhere 
or  other  exists  in  every  society,  be  it  ever  so  utilitarian  and  practical, 
linlcing  the  seen  to  the  unseen,  the  matter  of  fact  to  the  imaginative. 
As  a  recounter  of  mere  legends,  Mr.  Hawthorne  claims  high  praise. 
We  cannot  too  heartily  commend  this  book  as  the  best  addition  that 
has  been  made  to  what  may  be  called  the  Fairy  Library,  which  has 
been  made  for  many  years.' — London  Foreign  and  Colonial  Quarterly 
JRcview. 

'To  this  little  work  we  would  say, '  Live  ever,  sweet,  sweet  book.' 
It  comes  from  the  hand  of  a  man  of  genius.  Every  thing  about  it  has 
the  freshness  of  morning  and  of  May.  A  calm,  thoughtful  face  seem^ 
to  be  looking  at  you  from  every  page.' — N.  A.  Review. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS.         21 


SCENES  AND  SCENERY 

IN    THE 

SANDWICH  ISLANDS 


And  a  trip  through  Central  America:  being  obscr^-a- 
tions  from  my  Note-book  during  the  years  1837-1842. 
By  James  J.  Jarves,  Author  of  the  History  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  &:c.,  embellished  with  Map  and  4 
plates. 

*  Mr.  Jarves  has  enjoyed  peculiar  advantas^es  for  acquiring  an  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  the  past  and  present  condition  of  this  people,  their 
manners  and  customs,  and  the  natural  features  and  resources  of  the 
islands  ;  and  of  these  he  has  fully  availed  himself  He  seems  to  have 
"Written  without  fear  or  prejudice,  desirous  of  doing  ample  justice  to 
missionary  effort,  and  exposing  the  more  than  savage  outrage  of  for- 
eign residents  and  visiters,  some  of  them  high  in  official  station,  with 
fearlessness. 

'  From  the  two  works  of  Mr.  J.,  a  more  accurate  idea  of  the  islands 
may  be  obtained,  than  from  any  other  source.  There  is  much  liveli- 
ness in  his  narrative  ;  and  an  occasional  imperfection  in  the  structure 
of  a  sentence,  or  the  inexact  use  of  a  word,  shows  that  he  did  not 
write  in  fetters.  In  his  '  Sketches,'  particularly,  he  has  managed  so 
to  intermingle  the  offensive  and  the  ludicrous,  the  beautiful  and  the 
economical,  as  to  portray  well  the  peculiar  transition  state  of  this 
people.  Whoever  would  find  an  account  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
both  amusing  and  instructive,  will  not  fail  to  read  Mr.  J.'s  books.' — 
Christian  Review. 

'  The  book  before  us,  written  by  Mr.  James  Jackson  Jarves,  is  illus- 
trative of  the  recent  progress  of  religion,  science,  and  refinement  in 
that  most  interesting  group  —  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

'  We  rarely  read  a  book  of  this  class  from  beginning  to  end  :  to  the 
volume  before  us.  however,  we  have  paid  this  compliment.  It  con- 
tains many  provincialisms,  and,  strange  to  say,  a  few  grammatical 
errors  ;  yet  we  like  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  and  the  vividness 
with  which  the  author  paints  novel  scenes  in  the  North  Pacific' — 
New  World. 


SONGS  AND  BALLADS. 

Translated  from  Uhland,  Korner,  Biirger,  and  other 
German  Lyric  Poets,  with  notes.  By  Charles  T. 
Brooks. 

*  In  this  volume  we  have  presented  to  us  a  string  of  beautiful  pearls. 

'  The  t}7)ographical  execution  of  the  work  is  good,  and  the  pub- 
lishers merit  commendation.  We  think  the  volume  well  worthy  a 
place  among  the  selected  poetry  of  the  dav.' — Jlmerican  Eclectic. 


22        JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY'S    PUBLICATIONS. 


MISCELLANEOUS    BOOKS. 


CARLYLE'S  MISCELLANIES.    4  vols. 

"  SARTOR  RESARTUS.     Fourth  American  Edition. 

«  *  HEROES  OF  HISTORY.    1  vol. 

"  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.    2  vols. 

WILHELM  MEISTER.    3  vols. 
"  PAST  AND  PRESENT.     1  vol. 

"  CHARTISM.    1  vol. 

"  GERMAN    ROMANCE:    Specimens    of   its    chief 

authors ;    with   Biographical   and    Critical   Notices.     By   Thomas 
Carlyle.     2  vols.  12mo. 
ESSAYS  BY  R.  W.  EMERSON.    1  vol. 

Contents.     History;    Self    Reliance;    Compensation;    Spiritual 
Laws ;   Love  ;    Friendship  ;   Prudence  ;    Heroism ;   The    Over   Soul ; 
Circles  ;  Intellect ;  Art. 
NATURE.     By  R.  W.  Emerson. 

LIFE  OF  CRABBE  THE  POET.     By  his  Son.     12mo. 
THE  HAMLETS,  A  TALE.     By  Miss  Martineau.     2d  Ed.  18ma 
PIERPONT'S  POEMS,  now  first  collected.     16mo. 

POLITE   LITERATURE   IN  GERMANY.     Translated  by  Geo. 
W.  Haven.     16mo. 

COLERIDGE'S  CONFESSIONS  OF  AN  INQUIRING  SPIRIT. 

AIDS  TO  REFLECTION.     By  S.  T.  Coleridge.    8vo. 

TUCKER'S  LIGHT  OF  NATURE  PURSUED,  with  a  Memoir. 

4  vols.  8vo. 

GUIZOT'S   ESSAY  ON  THE   INFLUENCE  AND    CHARAC 
TER  OF  WASHINGTON.     16mo. 

GREENWOOD'S  SERMONS,  with  a  Memoir.    2  vols.  12mo. 

STEWART'S  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  HUMAN  MIND.    Svo.  4th 
Edition. 

CHANNING'S  WORKS,  Edited  by  the  Author.     6  vols.  12mo. 

SUNDAY  LIBRARY  FOR  YOUNG  PERSONS.    4  vols.  1  Brno. 

HOLMES'S  ANNALS  OF  AMERICA.    2  vols.  Svo. 

HISTORY  OF  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY.     By  B.  Peirce.  Svo. 

MARY  HOWITT'S,  STRIVE  AND  THRIVE. 

"  "  HOPE  ON!  HOPE  EVER. 

"  «  SOWING  AND  REAPING. 

"  "  WHO  SHALL  BE  GREATEST? 

"  «  TALES  IN  PROSE. 

TALES  IN  VERSE. 

"  «  TALES  IN  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY S    CATALOGUE. 


23 


STANDARD    WORKS. 


Bancroft's  U.  S.     3  vols. 

Sparks's  Life  of  Washington.     1  vol. 

"      American  Biography.     10  vols. 
Franklin's  Works.     10  vols. 
Prescotl's  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  3  v. 

"  Mexico.     3  vols. 

Btirke's  "Works.     9  vols. 
,  Stephens's  Central  America.    2  vols. 

"  Yucatan.     2  vols. 

"         Arabia  PetraB.    2  vols. 

'•         Greece,  &c.     2  vols. 
Story's  Writings.     1  vol. 
Shakspeare.     Various  Editions. 
Milton's  Poetical  Works.    2  vols. 

"        Prose  ^Vorks.     2  vols. 
Cowper's  Poems.    2  vols. 
Longfellow's  Poems.    3  vols. 
Encyclopedia  Americana.     13  vols. 
Miss  Bremer's  Works.     1  vol. 
Edgeworth's  "  10  vols. 

Hannah  More's     "  2  vols. 

Sherwood's  "  8  vols. 

Butler's  Works.  2  vols. 
Spenser's  "  5  vols. 
Channin^'s  "  6  vols. 

Henry  W  are's  AVorks. 
Charlotte  Elizabeth's  Works. 


Green^vood's  Works. 
Pollen's  "        5  vols. 

Heman's  "        5  vols. 

Whiitier,  Tennyson,  Leigh  Hunt,  Scott, 

Barry  Cornwall,  and  Lowell's  Poems. 
Burns's  Works.     1  vol. 
Aiken's  British  Poets.     8vo. 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
Lamb's  Complete  Works.     8vo. 
Herbert's  Poems  and  Remains.    2  vols. 
Latrobe's  Scripture  Illustrations.     4to. 
D'Aubigne's  Reformation.     3  vols. 
Neander's  Church  History. 
Bible  in  Spain. 

Milman's  History  of  Christianity. 
Buckminster's  Works.    2  vols.     12ma. 
Life  of  Jean  Paul  Richter.     2  vols. 
Peabody's  Doctrinal  Discourses.    12mo. 
Allison's    History  of  Europe.    4  vols. 

8vo. 
Carlyle's  Works.     14  vols.  12mo, 
Poets  and  Poetr\-  of  America. 
Buckminster's  VVorks.    2  vols. 
Walter  Scott's  Novels,  Poems,  and  Life, 

uniform.     39  vols. 
Paley's  Works.     6  vols. 
Young's  Old  English  Prose  Writers.  9  v. 


MKS.    SIGOURNEY'S 
PLEASANT  MEMORIES  OF  PLEASLNT  LANDS.   M  Ed.  with  additions. 

16mo.      Illustrated  'with  t-wo  beautiful  Engra-dngs.     Cloth. 

'  It  has  all  the  charms  which  characterize  the  works  of  William 
Howitt,  besides  its  poetical  illustrations  of  some  of  the  most  romantic 
spots  known  over  the  wide  earth.' —  Christian  Register. 

•  It  contains  a  variety  of  articles,  suggested  by  a  recent  visit  to  Great 
Britain,  in  poetry  and  prose,  but  all  of  a  superior  order,  and  all  calcu- 
lated to  enchain  the  attention  of  the  reader,  —  and  while  the  beautiful 
description  of  scenes  abroad  tends  to  enli2:hten,  the  elegant  language 
and  the  elevated  sentiments  must  purify  the  heart.' 

NEAT  MINIATURE  TOLDIES,  IN  CLOTH,  GILT  EDGES. 

Channing's  Self- Culture;  Hours  for  Heaven:  Pure  Gold;  Sentiment 
of  Flowers ;  Hemans,  Wordsworth.  Campbell,  and  Bowring's  Poetical 
Works;  Casket  of  Four  Jewels ;  Bible  and  the  Closet;  Marriage  Ring: 
Daily  Manna ;  Elizabeth,  or  the  Exiles  of  Siberia ;  Vicar  of  Wakefield  5 
Goldsmith's  Essays;  Gems  from  American  Poets:  Hannah  More's 
Private  Devotion  ;  Token  of  the  Heart ;  Paul  and  Virginia ;  Flower 
Vase;  Gems  from  Female  Poets;  Scott's  Poetical  Works,  3  vols.; 
Coleridge's  Poetical  Works ;  Barton's  Poems ;  Remember  Me ;  Queen 
of  Flowers. 


JAMES    MUNROE    AND    COMPANY, 

Publishers,  Booksellers,  and  Stationers, 

134  WASHINGTON  STREET, 
BOSTON, 

KEEP    CONSTANTLY    ON    HAND    A    LARGE    ASSORTMENT    O? 

MISCELLANEOUS    BOOKS,    SUITABLE    FOR    CITY, 

TOWN,    AND    VILLAGE    LIBRARIES. 

O^PBRSONAL    ATTENTION    PAID    TO    ALL    ORDERS    ENTRUSTED    TO   THEIR    CARS. 

SCHOOL    BOOKS,    ALL    THE    VARIETIES    IN    USE    IN    THE 
UNITED    STATES. 


Books  imported  to  order,  in  large  or  small  quantities, 
by  eveiy  steamer ;  and  answers  to  orders  received  in 
thirty  to  sixty  days.  Orders  from  incorporated  institu- 
tions, executed  free  of  duty. 

Particular  attention  paid  to  the  furnishing  of  Juvenile 
Libraries,  either  Sabbath  or  Day  School,  and  as  low  as 
can  be  procured  any  where  in  the  city. 

Merchants,  School  Committees,  and  Teachers,  supplied 
with  Books  and  Stationery  at  a  large  discount  from  Trade 
Prices. 

J.  M.  &  Co.  are  also  publishers  of 

THE 

AMERICAN    ALMANAC, 

AND 

REPOSITORY  OF  USEFUL  KNOWLEDGE. 

Edited  by  Francis  Bowen.    14  volumes  now  ready.    Back 
volumes  supplied. 

George  CktoUdge,  Printer,  57  Washington  Street,  Boston. 


